, 13 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
I see this argument pop up every once in a while - the numbers look shocking. While the number that @iam_preethi provided is less than shown on @bitinfocharts (2.83%,95.44%), there is a frame of reference that needs to be taken into account: Mini thread

bitinfocharts.com/top-100-riches…
Of the Top 10 richest Bitcoin addresses, 7 of them are exchange wallets (4.0894% of total BTC). Exchange wallets are either amalgams of their customers holdings, or insurance funds in the event of a breach.
Of the remaining 18 out of the Top 25 wallets, 9 of them were first created prior to 2017 - 2 in 2010, 1 in 2011, 1 in 2013, 1 in 2014, 2 in 2015, and 2 in 2016. These wallets contain 2.3471% of total BTC.
According to a @chainalysis report in 2017, between 2.78M and 3.79M BTC is lost for good (we will use the average, 3.285M, 15.64%).
There is not a 1:1 correlation to lost tokens and wealth distribution list, but it is assumed that 80%, conservatively, were from wallets established prior to 2017. This would indicate that the vast majority of lost tokens are held in large wallets - dropping that # to 12.51%
For the wallets created prior to 2017, the argument can be made that their wealth is a product of value accrual, as $BTC has appreciated since 2010-2016. Many of the owners of these wallets can also be inferred as staunch believers in #Bitcoin, therefore not incentivized to sell.
Adding these percentages together, then, would take the percentage value to 18.95% of all $BTC.

That means that 61.51% of BTC is owned by approximately 2% of the remaining wallets (17 wallets are negligible, as there are currently 20,214,307 wallets in existence).
Before we compare this 61.51% to our current wealth distribution in fiat currencies, I would like to point out that the wealth distribution list is inherently skewed as 12,967,672 (48.43%) wallets contain less than $11 (0.001BTC)

Without those wallets, 5% own 95.44% of all $BTC
The next lowest tier of wallets is for those that own between $11-$110 (0.001-0.01) BTC - 6,306,870 wallets. Remove them from the equation, and now 10% own 95.44% of all BTC.

(Not trying to invalidate small wallets, but when comparing to large holding wallets, hard to justify).
On to the current wealth distribution:

Based on a 2012 OECD report, the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households are reported to control 79% of total wealth (which OECD notes is on the low end of the spectrum compared to other analyses - due to vast underreporting of wealth).
This was in 2012 - the gap has only increased since then. Factoring in the underreported wealth and the different chronological timestamp, it is fair to assume that the wealth distribution of $BTC is comparable to that of the U.S. - not the best argument, but there is a bit more.
The "rich list" of $BTC holders contains a myriad of people with different backgrounds, upbringings, and views. These people don't hold powerful positions that dictate worldwide decisions. The power struggle is much different in our space than in the traditional landscape.
I understand that a lot of these calculations are rough at best.Also, due to the nature of Twitter, some of these arguments are not developed enough to hold weight.

My point in all of this is to spark thought - numbers don't lie, but we can make them lie by moving the goalposts.
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