Bitcoin-rich List Plunges

New Delhi: Regulatory scrutiny and geopolitical upheaval have wiped out about 30,000 Bitcoin billionaires in the last three months, as the volatile cryptocurrency has plummeted from $69,000 in November to around $36,000 (as of Thursday).

According to data obtained by financial news portal Finbold, the number of Bitcoin addresses holding over $1 million decreased by 28,186, or 24.26 per cent, between October and January.

Over the previous three months, the Bitcoin-rich list has plummeted.

"Wallets holding over $100,000 have dropped 30.04 per cent from 505,711 to 353,763. The number of addresses with $1 million and above dropped 23.5 per cent from 105,820 to 80,945. Wallets holding over $10 million and above also registered a drop of 32.08 per cent from 10,319 to 7,008," according to the report.

The decrease in the Bitcoin rich list corresponds to the asset's increased volatility in recent weeks.

"A combination of factors such as regulatory scrutiny, turbulent markets, geopolitical unrest, and COVID combined with having an adverse effect on the asset’s performance. However, despite the volatile start to the year, a number of analysts continue to laud the asset as a hedge against rising inflation," the report elaborated.

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The number of liquidations has surged in recent weeks as a result of the fast decrease in the value of Bitcoin since the beginning of the year, with $372 million in long positions in the perpetual market across all exchanges liquidated in just one day on January 22.

"Given the anonymous nature of the world’s most valuable digital asset, it is difficult to identify the individuals who possess the addresses in question," the report said.

Bitcoin, like other digital cryptocurrencies, has plummeted to new lows, wiping off almost $1 trillion from the global crypto market value.

The crypto meltdown occurred when the US Federal Reserve hinted at raising interest rates as soon as March and withdrew market assistance.