Bitcoin Bleeds 25,000 Millionaire Wallets: A Stark Reckoning One Year Into Trump’s Term
The champagne's gone flat. Bitcoin's elite club—those wallets holding over $1 million—has shed a staggering 25,000 members since Inauguration Day 2025. Forget the moon; this is a gravity check.
The Great Wealth Consolidation—Or Evaporation?
That number isn't just a stat. It's a direct line into the volatile heart of crypto's wealth narrative. Are whales taking profits and diving into Treasuries? Or has the market's churn simply redefined what a 'millionaire' looks like on-chain? The ledger doesn't lie, but it also doesn't explain motives—just the brutal, binary math of gain and loss.
Policy Waves vs. Crypto Tides
Correlation isn't causation, but timing is everything. The first year of any administration brings regulatory tremors, and crypto markets are the world's most sensitive seismograph. Whether through executive orders, SEC murmurs, or just the tone set from the top, policy shapes sentiment. And sentiment, in this game, is often the only fundamental that matters in the short term.
The New Bull's Baptism
Every cycle needs its purge. For the true believers, this isn't a crisis—it's a feature. Weak hands and leveraged paper millionaires get washed out, transferring coins to more diamond-clad addresses. It's the market's ruthless way of strengthening its foundation before the next leg up. Consider it a high-stakes stress test for HODLer resolve.
Beyond the Headline Hysteria
Zoom out. A drop in millionaire addresses can mask simultaneous growth in the thousandaire or hundred-thousandaire cohorts—the infamous 'adoption wave.' The real story might not be wealth leaving Bitcoin, but wealth spreading through it. The network's health isn't measured by a single metric, not even one as flashy as a million-dollar wallet count.
So, 25,000 fewer crypto millionaires? On Wall Street, they'd call that a 'correction.' In crypto, we call it Tuesday. The real money was never in counting the millionaires—it's in spotting where the coins go next. After all, in finance, the only thing sharper than a market downturn is the irony of watching traditional investors finally understand volatility... right after they FOMO in.
Bitcoin’s Biggest Holders Prove More Resilient Amid Millionaire Decline
The pullback was more muted among the largest Bitcoin holders. Addresses holding more than $10 million worth of BTC declined from 18,801 to 16,453, a decrease of 12.5%.
The smaller contraction suggests that higher-tier holders were better positioned to absorb market volatility, while those closer to the millionaire threshold were more exposed to price swings.
Much of the surge in Bitcoin millionaire addresses occurred before Trump formally took office. Following his election victory in November 2024, Bitcoin traded NEAR $69,000, with about 120,851 addresses holding at least $1 million.
As expectations grew around deregulation and stronger institutional support for crypto, prices climbed rapidly.
By January 2025, Bitcoin had rallied above $100,000, driving a sharp increase in high-value addresses as rising prices pushed more wallets over the millionaire mark.
The run-up reflected optimism around Trump’s pro-crypto messaging and the prospect of tighter integration between digital assets and traditional finance.
Once in office, Trump’s administration moved quickly to ease pressure on the crypto sector.
Pro-industry regulators were appointed, crypto-related legislation advanced in a Republican-controlled Congress, and long-standing barriers between banks and digital asset firms were reduced.
Trump and his family also launched several crypto ventures, including mining projects and branded tokens, drawing both attention and criticism.
Supporters argued the moves signaled long-term confidence in the sector, while critics raised ethical concerns over potential conflicts of interest, allegations the WHITE House has consistently denied.
No shock here: 40% of Trump's wealth is in Bitcoin, and he's fueled by the crypto elite.
Now he's pushing regulations that'll make him astronomically richer.
They're literally making a statue of him as a Bitcoin king!
This isn't politics, it's a shameless insider trading… pic.twitter.com/cSetyybSaF
Trump Administration Pushes Pro-Crypto Agenda
The Trump administration advanced its pro-crypto agenda last week with a series of policy and regulatory moves.
President Trump signed an executive order urging regulators to remove barriers that prevent 401(k) plans from including alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
If implemented, the reforms could allow millions of Americans to allocate retirement funds to Bitcoin and other digital assets through regulated channels.
Trump also nominated economist Stephen Miran, a digital asset advocate, to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, signaling continuity in his administration’s pro-crypto stance.
In a separate executive order, Trump moved to end “debanking” practices that target lawful crypto firms.
The Blockchain Association praised the measures as a “historic shift” that WOULD expand consumer choice, empower wealth-building, and reduce operational barriers for blockchain businesses.
The SEC added to the positive momentum by clarifying that certain liquid staking models, such as those involving receipt tokens like stETH, are not securities.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins reinforced his commitment to keeping crypto innovation in the US, pledging a proactive approach to regulation and a shift away from enforcement-led policymaking.
