20,000 Bitcoin Whales: How the $10 Million Club Warns of Crypto’s New Gilded Age 🐋

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  • Somewhere between promises of digital freedom and reality, over 20,000 Bitcoin wallets now boast $10 million or more. In a play, this would be where the villagers stop sharing bread and start building mansions.
  • Whales are gobbling, while the common folk stand about with empty baskets, pondering the meaning of decentralization… and perhaps, life itself.

One day, men gathered around a stove and said, “Let’s decentralize finance!” And so they built Bitcoin. But as it nears its all-time high, the soup pot seems to be back in the landlord’s kitchen. Over 20,000 addresses now cradle more than $10 million each—almost 10% of all Bitcoin in existence. Evidently, “from each according to his hash rate” was a short-lived phrase.

You might say the network’s riches are disappearing behind velvet curtains. A small group feasts; the aroma drifts to the rest.

Whale territory

Fresh data reveals: more than 20,000 Bitcoin addresses each contain a sum no pauper would recognize—over $10 million apiece. Altogether, that’s about $200 billion. “Almost 9.43% of the supply,” as the accountant says, gloomily. Another says, “Over 21% of its realized cap,” which sounds very impressive at the local tavern.

And look—over just four weeks, another 622 wallets claimed membership in this exclusive society (minimum 10 BTC, powdered wig optional).

The $10 million club is growing rapidly!

Some whisper that this is just a passing phase. They would be wrong. Since 2018, those addresses with $10 million or more have swelled with the price, like an uncle’s regret after the holidays. But in 2025, both the drumroll and the marching band have sped up. And this time, the spectators in the cheap seats—retail investors—seem to have missed the train entirely.

Previous bull markets saw these whales retreat after the euphoria end. Now, they’re multiplying even as retail participation dozes quietly in the back row, a handkerchief over the eyes.

The illusion of equality

Ah, decentralization! What a splendid ideal, like the neighbor’s apple tree—always just out of reach. Top 20,000 addresses, each with $10 million and up, now preside over 1.87 million BTC. The result is a society within a society, where dolphins, sharks, and whales host grand balls in glittering underwater palaces, and minnows complain about driftwood on the shore.

This not-so-invisible hierarchy, inside what was once a network for the people, now shapes prices with the grace of a czar twirling his moustache.

Retail investors, meanwhile, are seen at the edge of the lake, skipping stones and asking if they, too, might move the tide. The answer, more often than not, is a polite chuckle from the whales.

Should retail investors worry?

Interpretations of Bitcoin’s grandeur vary depending how much you have in your wallet or your flask. Some grumble that the new wealth pyramid betrays Satoshi’s bedtime story. Others, perhaps fatter seals, see the whale influx as testament to lasting faith—never mind the splashes.

But question lingers—can price discovery remain a village festival, or is it now a masquerade ball hosted by the richest wallets?

As the whales sup, the common folk still hope for an honest market—a place where one can trade and dream with neither velvet rope nor golden ticket. Or else, at least enjoy the fireworks from a distance. 🍾🐳

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2025-06-17 12:12