Santiment's Record 20,338 Bitcoin Wallets Is a 100–10K Count. Our Node Gets 20,315, and Wallets With 1,000+ BTC Are 18% Below Their 2021 Peak
Santiment says 20,338 bitcoin wallets now hold between 10 and 10,000 BTC, an all-time high. The chart in the same post counts 100 to 10,000 BTC. We ran both ranges on our own node. Only the chart's version is at a record.
Santiment posted on October 15 that "there are now 20,338 wallets holding 10 to 10K BTC, an all-time high after climbing sharply since mid-July" [1]. The chart attached to the post is labeled "Addresses Distribution [100 - 10k] coins" [1]. TokenPost flagged the mismatch a day later: the text and the chart give the group different lower limits [2].
The difference matters because Santiment reads this cohort as a signal. "This cohort has historically shown a close relationship with Bitcoin's future price direction," the post says [1]. We don't test that claim here. We check the count itself, against 454 weekly snapshots of the UTXO set from our own node [3].
Two ranges, two very different numbers
It is also the highest reading in our series, which starts on January 12, 2018 [3]. The previous high was 20,138, on May 10, 2026. The count has set a new high in every snapshot since September 27 [3].
The 10 to 10,000 BTC range in Santiment's text is another story. Add the 129,708 addresses holding 10 to 100 BTC and the count becomes 150,023 [3]. That number is not at a record. It peaked at 157,246 on October 1, 2023, and sits 4.6% below that today [3].
Picture the 10–10K group as a stack of 150 coins, one coin per thousand addresses. The 100–10K group Santiment charted would be the top 20 coins of that stack.
The climb since July is a 100–1,000 BTC story
Santiment dates the move from mid-July [1]. Our series agrees on the timing. On July 15, at block 958,176, the 100–10K count stood at 19,783, its lowest reading of the summer [3]. Since then it has added 532 addresses [3].
Split by band, the picture changes. The 100–1,000 BTC band went from 17,827 to 18,371 addresses, up 544. The 1,000–10,000 band went from 1,956 to 1,944, down 12 [3]. In other words, on net, all of the growth since July is in the band below 1,000 BTC.
| Snapshot | 100–1,000 BTC | 1,000–10,000 BTC | 100–10K total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 12, 2018 | 15,772 | 1,515 | 17,287 |
| Feb 7, 2021 | 13,705 | 2,390 | 16,095 |
| Jul 15, 2026 | 17,827 | 1,956 | 19,783 |
| Oct 18, 2026 | 18,371 | 1,944 | 20,315 |
The bigger band peaked in early 2021, when the total was lower. Today's record is carried by the smaller one [3].
544 more addresses holding 100 to 1,000 BTC since July 15, according to our node. The 1,000 to 10,000 BTC band has 12 fewer [3].
The bitcoin held by the 100–10K group tells a similar story. It now holds 9,472,363 BTC, the largest amount in our series. As a share of the supply, though, its 47.13% is below the 48.73% of February 2021 [3].
Where the 1,000+ BTC addresses went
Count every address with 1,000 BTC or more, including the 87 with 10,000 BTC or more, and the total is 2,031 [3]. On February 7, 2021, at block 669,467, it was 2,487. That is 18.3% fewer today [3].
The coins held at that size have also shrunk. Addresses with 1,000 BTC or more hold 7,178,501 BTC, or 35.71% of the supply, against a peak of 8,103,642 BTC on February 13, 2022 [3].
That said, the record is real for the range Santiment charted. Two independent counts land within 23 addresses of each other. The question is what kind of holder sits behind them.
What an address count can't tell you
- An address is not an entity. One owner can split coins across many addresses, and one exchange or ETF custody address can hold coins for thousands of users [2]. Our holder distribution explainer puts that caveat first.
- Reshuffles move the count. A custodian that splits one large wallet into several 100–1,000 BTC addresses adds to the count without a single new buyer. From the count alone, we can't tell that apart from fresh accumulation.
- Late 2024 shows how fast it can move. Between October 6 and December 22, 2024, the 100–1,000 band added 1,706 addresses in eleven weeks, more than three times the 544 it has added since July [3]. The jump is the near-vertical stretch in the chart.
- Methods differ. We group unspent outputs by address in each weekly snapshot. We haven't checked Santiment's method, and its chart is daily. Our series has gaps: no snapshots between June 14 and July 15, or between August 16 and September 17, 2026 [3].
- No price call. Nothing here tests whether this cohort predicts price, and none of it is investment advice.
Santiment's chart and our node agree on the count and on when the climb began. Where they part is the label: under the 10 to 10,000 BTC range in the post's text, there is no record. The band to watch in the next snapshots is the 1,000–10,000 BTC one, which has not joined the climb. More on long-term coin behavior is in our piece on holders who aren't selling and in our HODL waves, all part of our supply section.
Every cohort, from dust to the 87 addresses with 10,000 BTC or more, is updated weekly on our bitcoin wallet distribution chart, computed from our own node.
Sources
Source type in parentheses. Times in UTC.
- Santiment, Bitcoin's Strongest Stakeholder Signal Is Climbing Again!, Santiment Insights, October 15, 2026. The 20,338 figure, the "10 to 10K BTC" wording, the chart labeled "Addresses Distribution [100 - 10k] coins" and the price-direction claim. (Primary, statement and data)
- TokenPost, Enna Lee, Santiment Posts Record 20,338 Bitcoin Wallet Count With Conflicting Ranges, October 16, 2026, republished by StakeNewsToday. The range mismatch and the address-versus-entity caveat. (Secondary, press)
- NodeWitness, holder distribution by address balance, 454 weekly UTXO set snapshots from our own node, January 12, 2018 to October 18, 2026 (block 971,930), on our bitcoin wallet distribution chart. Bands: 100 ≤ balance < 1,000 BTC and 1,000 ≤ balance < 10,000 BTC. (Primary, own data)
More in Supply and holders
Last updated: October 20, 2026