Everything You Need To Know About The Bitcoin Vladimir Club


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By CNBCTV18.comĀ  IST (Published)

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The Vladimir Club is the unofficial name given to the collective of bitcoin holders with at least 1 percent of the total number of bitcoins. The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million, so for someone to be part of the Vladimir club, they would have to hold at least 2,100 BTC.

For as long as civilization has existed, there has been a need for exclusivity. This is the reason why social bodies like the Gentlemen’s Club were established in the 18th century. It is also why lists like the ‘Forbes Richest’ or ‘Fortune 500’ exist today. People are driven to be part of exclusive clubs, while others wonder in awe at the individuals on such lists.

Bitcoin is the same. Ever since the cryptocurrency gained monetary value a few years ago, people have wanted to know who owns how much BTC and what their net worth could be. This led to the creation of Bitcoin’s exclusive list – The Vladimir Club.

What is the Bitcoin Vladimir Club?

The Vladimir Club is the unofficial name given to the collective of bitcoin holders with at least 1 percent of the total number of bitcoins. The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million, so for someone to be part of the Vladimir club, they would have to hold at least 2,100 BTC.

Back when the term was coined, the price of bitcoin was around $11, so members of the club possessed about $24,000 worth of BTC. That number today is closer to $60 million. Therefore, if getting into the Vladimir club was difficult back then, it seems pretty impossible today.

The origin of the Bitcoin Vladimir Club

Contrary to what some might think, the club’s name has nothing to do with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. It’s just a coincidence and nothing for the conspiracy theorists to ponder.

The term originates from BitcoinTalk, a public forum founded by Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2012, a user named Vladimir encouraged people on the forum to hold at least 2,100 BTC. He was trying to tell people what a great investment Bitcoin was and how owning 1 ten thousandths of the total supply was a good strategy. Somehow the name stuck, and that’s how we have the Vladimir Club today.

The Numbers Game

In a utopian world, there would be precisely 10,000 members of the Vladimir Club. In the real world, however, this can never happen for several reasons.

Firstly, the total number of bitcoin hasn’t been mined yet. The current circulation of Bitcoin is somewhere around 18.5 million, and because of the constant halving in its mining process, the circulation hard cap will only be reached somewhere in the year 2140.

Secondly, not all bitcoins in circulation are available. Due to lost wallets and erroneous transactions, some BTC is permanently lost. Like in the case of James Howells, who lost his hard drive containing around 8,000 bitcoins, which may never be found again.

Third, the real bitcoin whales who own more than 2,100 BTC might not hold all of them in a single wallet – either for security reasons or to simply stay under the radar.

Also, the disparity between bitcoin whales and normal investors is quite huge. Some whales and institutes own massive amounts of BTC. Take MicroStrategy, for instance; the software firm owns almost 130,000 BTC. Therefore, it is estimated that the Vladimir Club only consists of 500 to 600 large whales.

Conclusion

Ironically, the Vladimir club is no longer exclusive to Bitcoin anymore. Many cryptocurrencies with limited supplies have their own version of the Vladimir Club, like the Binance Vladimir Club, which requires 20,000 BNB because of its max supply of 200 million BNB.

Moreover, clubs like the Bitcoin Vladimir Club are not the best thing for the future of Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general. It represents the gap between the haves and the have-nots in the world today. Moreover, it could also lead to the concentration of BTC in the hands of a few. Fortunately, the club is tiny and might remain that way.



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