More Than 11 Million Bitcoin Remains Hidden in Wallets
Galaxy estimates that 11.1 million BTC sits in addresses without a known owner. That points to widespread self-custody, but also to possibly lost coins and invisible custody structures.
Key Takeaways
- According to Galaxy, about 11.1 million BTC, more than 55% of the supply, sits in addresses without a known owner.
- That could point to individual holders, unidentified institutions, lost wallets, or coins that Galaxy did not recognize.
- The numbers show that self-custody is still widely used and that a large share of Bitcoin remains outside visible exchanges and funds.
Bitcoin is no longer a niche asset, but a market that is also gaining more acceptance on Wall Street. Still, blockchain data can’t yet link a known owner to most of the BTC. According to Galaxy, the October snapshot showed about 11.1 million BTC, or more than 55% of the supply, in addresses without a known owner.
What Galaxy Sees
Galaxy says those coins could belong to individual holders, to institutions the company has not identified, or to wallets whose owners lost access. Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy, sees the figure mainly as proof that self-custody is still widely used. That means people keep their own bitcoin keys instead of leaving their coins with an exchange or fund.
Thorn wrote that more than half of the total BTC supply sits in addresses without a known owner, despite years of institutionalization and centralization. Xapo Bank responded by saying the large number of unknown wallets shows that retail investors have been in this market for more than a decade. That fits into the broader debate over who really holds bitcoin, from individuals to funds and companies.
Why That Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
The 55% without a name does not automatically mean all of that BTC is in the hands of active retail investors. Some of it may be permanently lost, for example because of forgotten passwords, lost hardware, or deceased holders without a recovery plan. In October 2026, about 3.7 million BTC, or 17.6% of the maximum supply, was considered permanently lost.
Some coins may also still be held by funds, companies, or OTC desks that Galaxy did not recognize. On top of that, there are custody structures that spread coins across many addresses, making them harder to track. That makes the supply breakdown less straightforward than the raw numbers might suggest at first glance.
Why This Matters for European Readers
For European crypto investors, this matters because it shows how important self-custody still is in Bitcoin. At the same time, it highlights that a large share of the supply remains outside the visible structure of exchanges and funds. That can help explain why analyses of ownership, liquidity, and institutional adoption often reach very different conclusions.
