Over 11 million bitcoin has no known owner. Here's what it means
A recent report by Galaxy Research indicates that over 11 million Bitcoin, or 55% of the total supply, remains in unattributed wallets. Analysts suggest this highlights the continued prevalence of self-custody among retail investors despite the growth of institutional crypto services.
Why it matters
Understanding the distribution and custody of Bitcoin provides insight into the maturity and decentralization of the cryptocurrency market.
About 11.1 million BTC, roughly 55% of the supply, was classified as unattributed in Galaxy’s October snapshot. Those coins could belong to individuals, institutions the firm hasn’t identified or holders who can no longer access them.
Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, sees the figure as evidence that self-custody remains widespread, with people keeping control of their bitcoin keys despite the growth of exchanges, funds and institutional custodians.
"More than half of all BTC supply is sitting in addresses with no known attribution despite all the institutionalization and centralized ownership over the years, still a ton of bitcoin (maybe even most) is held by individuals in self-custody," Thorn wrote on X .
Self-custody means holding your own bitcoin keys rather than leaving coins with an exchange or a fund.
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