Bitcoin’s (BTC) ascent to and above the $40,000 level has affected several parts of its ecosystem, including the number of addresses holding the leading digital asset.

According to a tweet by crypto market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock, the number of Bitcoin wallets with a balance has surpassed 50 million.

Bitcoin Milestone!
There are now more than 50 million $BTC addresses with a balance. This represents a robust 17%+ growth since the start of the year.
🔗https://t.co/jrHO8NOmtI pic.twitter.com/CHqXguy0DW

— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) December 4, 2023

Bitcoin Wallets With a Balance Exceed 50M

The rise in Bitcoin addresses with a balance is a significant milestone, accounting for more than 17% growth since the beginning of the year.

Besides the growth of these Bitcoin addresses, the ecosystem has also recorded a significant uptick in the amount of BTC held by wallets with 1,000 BTC or more. IntoTheBlock said the figure recently reached its highest since December 2022.

The increase in addresses and amount of BTC held in wallets with 1,000 BTC or more comes as the leading digital asset soared past $42,000 for the first time in 19 months. At the time of writing, data from CoinMarketCap shows that the asset is trading at $41,500 with a 6% 24-hour increase and a weekly spike of 13%.

Over 80% of Bitcoin Holders in Profit

Following the price surge, BTC’s dominance rose to 52.6% as the cryptocurrency outperformed the altcoin market. The asset’s year-to-date gains are up 152%, and the overall crypto market cap has increased more than 3% to levels last seen in May 2022. Currently, more than 80% of BTC holders are in profit.

It is worth mentioning that Bitcoin’s latest surge triggered more than $190 million in liquidations, $150 million of which were short positions.

Optimism surrounding the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals has been one of the major forces driving BTC’s surge. The crypto community believes there is a higher chance the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the ETFs between January 5 and 10.

While some market analysts anticipate a major BTC price correction in January after the SEC approves a spot Bitcoin ETF, others believe the crypto asset will continue to surge until the upcoming halving occurs. There is no certainty that BTC will see a correction next month, but since the asset has not witnessed one in roughly 100 days, the risk of a correction occurring after the approvals is increasing.