Bitcoin loses over 26,000 millionaire addresses in first half of 2026
Bitcoin (BTC) recorded a sharp decline in millionaire addresses during the first half of 2026, as falling prices pushed thousands of wallets below the $1 million threshold.
Data from Finbold’s H1 2026 Cryptocurrency Market Report shows that between January 1 and June 30, 2026, the total number of Bitcoin wallet addresses holding at least $1 million fell from 148,084 to 121,431, representing a loss of 26,653 addresses, or an 18% decline over the first six months of the year.
The largest drop came from addresses holding between $1 million and $10 million, which fell from 131,716 to 107,989. That marks a decline of 23,727 addresses, showing that mid-tier Bitcoin wallet holders were most affected by the market correction.
At the upper end, addresses holding $10 million or more also declined, dropping from 16,368 to 13,533. This represents a loss of 2,835 addresses, suggesting that even larger holders were not fully insulated from Bitcoin’s weaker price action.
Bitcoin millionaire addresses extend Q1 losses
The H1 figures also show that the decline in Bitcoin millionaire addresses continued after the first quarter. By the end of Q1 2026, the total number of millionaire addresses had already fallen to 127,494, down 20,590 from the start of the year.
By June 30, the total had dropped further to 121,431, meaning Bitcoin lost an additional 6,063 millionaire addresses during the second quarter. This indicates that while the pace of decline slowed compared with Q1, pressure on high-value BTC wallets persisted through the first half of 2026.
Overall, the first six months of 2026 saw a larger contraction than Q1 alone, with the total loss widening from 20,590 addresses to 26,653 addresses. The data points to a sustained deterioration in Bitcoin’s millionaire wallet count as market conditions remained challenging.
Bitcoin millionaire addresses reverse H1 2025 gains
The H1 2026 decline marks a sharp reversal from the same period last year. In the first half of 2025, Bitcoin added 26,758 millionaire addresses, rising from 155,569 on January 1 to 182,327 by June 30.
By contrast, in H1 2026, the number of Bitcoin addresses holding at least $1 million fell by 26,653, dropping from 148,084 to 121,431. That means Bitcoin effectively erased almost the same number of millionaire addresses in H1 2026 as it added during H1 2025.
The swing highlights how quickly Bitcoin’s on-chain wealth distribution can shift when market conditions reverse, with a strong accumulation cycle in 2025 giving way to price-driven wallet reclassification in 2026.
Price-driven reclassification weighs on wallet counts
Despite the decline, the data does not necessarily suggest widespread capital flight from Bitcoin. Instead, much of the movement likely reflects price-driven reclassification, where falling Bitcoin valuations push addresses below the $1 million or $10 million thresholds.
This distinction is important because Bitcoin address counts measure wallet balances, not individual investors. A single person, exchange, fund, or institution can control multiple Bitcoin addresses, while one address can also represent pooled holdings belonging to many users.
The same point applies across the wider Bitcoin wallet market. Whether an investor uses a custodial platform, a self-custody Bitcoin wallet, or even a Bitcoin Lightning wallet for faster transactions, address-level data should not be read as a direct count of unique holders.
Still, millionaire address data remains a useful indicator of changes in Bitcoin’s on-chain wealth structure. In this case, the decline suggests that mid-tier holders were more exposed to Bitcoin’s price correction, while larger wallets saw a smaller but still notable reduction.
The contraction coincided with a steep decline in Bitcoin’s price over the first half of the year. BTC traded at around $88,700 on January 1, 2026, before falling to $58,315 on June 30, when the data was collected, representing a decline of about 34.2%.
Bitcoin wealth distribution shifts in H1 2026
The data highlights a broader shift in Bitcoin’s market structure during the first half of 2026. Addresses in the $1 million to $10 million range accounted for most of the decline, representing 23,727 of the total 26,653 lost millionaire addresses.
This means that nearly 89% of the total drop came from the lower millionaire cohort, reinforcing the idea that wallets closest to the $1 million threshold are the most vulnerable during periods of price weakness.
Meanwhile, addresses worth $10 million or more accounted for 2,835 of the decline. Although smaller in absolute terms, the drop shows that larger Bitcoin holders also saw their on-chain wealth fall below major valuation levels.
The findings underline how quickly Bitcoin’s millionaire address count can shift during periods of volatility. While the number of high-value wallets remains significant, the first half of 2026 marked a clear setback for Bitcoin’s millionaire cohort.
