Bitcoin (BTC) ownership is becoming more decentralized every day, data shows, allaying fears that the supply is beingness controlled by an aristocracy.

Data from Glassnode reproduced by statistician Willy Woo on Feb. 3 shows that the number of smaller Bitcoin holders and those property coins on behalf of clients keeps growing.

Bitcoin in the hands of the little guy

Despite BTC/USD rising to record highs in recent weeks, more, not fewer, small investors are coming in board. At the same time, longtime BTC hodlers, known equally "humpbacks" in reference to their condition every bit the largest and oldest whale investors in the space, are not cashing out.

"Distribution keeps getting better," Woo summarized in a series of tweets on the data.

"Rough estimate is 40% of the available supply is controlled by small / medium holders (
Bitcoin supply distribution chart. Source: Willy Woo/ Glassnode

The numbers serve to alleviate fears of centralization fanned by recent articles in the mainstream press on the back of Bitcoin price rises and associated publicity.

In a piece on Jan. 31, Bloomberg used a study from research entity Token Annotator to claim that "Bitcoin'due south infrastructure is more centralized than ever before," and that this was "raising alarms about the security and viability of what is championed as a decentralized network."

In belatedly December, Forbes targeted mining as an alleged victim of "Chinese centralization."

Proponents meanwhile go along to highlight Bitcoin equally the antitoxin to the centralization which has undermined fiat currencies around the earth.

"How did nosotros get to this betoken? Centralization, complacency, and a detachment from monetary reality," commentator Marty Bent wrote in his latest blog post on Feb. one.

Trader: Big buyers will sell eventually

A minor preoccupation nonetheless remains the bear on of major selling on distribution should new institutional buyers choose to take profit.

For pop trader Scott Melker, such a scenario is a thing of "if," not "when," and the thought that institutions will hodl ad infinitum is a myth.

Both MicroStrategy and Grayscale added to their positions this week, the quondam purchasing 295 BTC on Tuesday while the latter's Bitcoin avails under direction now full $22.5 billion.

Grayscale BTC holdings. Source: Bybt.com

"Regardless of all of the reports surfacing about hedge funds exploring Bitcoin, it is our belief most are going to lock in profit at some indicate, whether they own GBTC or custody their ain coins. Then, our reply is yeah, institutions will sell their bitcoin," he wrote this calendar week.

"But it is reasonable to believe many companies and funds will add Bitcoin to their residual sheet in some denomination as an aggrandizement hedge rather than a short-term profit opportunity, leaving some Bitcoin off the marketplace for good."