On-chain data shows over half of the Ethereum supply is held by just 10 addresses. Here’s how other ETH-based tokens like Shiba Inu stack up.
Below is the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in this metric for eight cryptocurrencies over the past few months.
From the graph, it’s visible that 51% of the Ethereum supply is owned by the 10 largest wallets on the network. This is more than most of the other ETH-based tokens on the list.
The two coins that are ahead in this metric are Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Uniswap (UNI). The latter is only marginally ahead of ETH with a value of 52.2%, but the former is significantly ahead at 62.3%.
Generally, a cryptocurrency’s supply being heavily concentrated on just a few hands doesn’t tend to be a constructive signal, as it means only a few players are needed to move the market.
The higher is a validator’s stake, the higher is the chance that they get picked. If a single staker crosses the 51% supply threshold, they can, in theory, gain total control over the blockchain.
Considering that Ethereum has just 10 holders controlling 51% of the supply, an attack on the network is possible if these entities come together. The chances of it happening, though, are quite slim.
Still, the fact the likes of ETH, SHIB, and UNI are notably centralized on just a few holders could be something to watch for. In contrast, some other tokens in the ecosystem like USDC (28.6%), DAI (31%), and Chainlink (31.5%) are in a healthier zone in terms of this metric.
Ethereum has seen a surge of almost 4% over the last 24 hours that has taken its price to the $4,380 mark.
