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Bitcoin ‘Active Entities’ at Highest Since 2017 Bull Run

The on-chain metric suggests Bitcoin is garnering users despite the cryptocurrency’s extended period of comatose price action.

By Omkar Godbole
AccessTimeIconJul 22, 2020 at 11:43 a.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 9:34 a.m. UTC
(FabrikaSimf/Shutterstock)
(FabrikaSimf/Shutterstock)
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An on-chain metric suggests the Bitcoin network is garnering users despite the cryptocurrency’s extended period of comatose price action.

  • The seven-day moving average of Bitcoin's "active entities" rose to 305,355 on Tuesday to hit the highest level since Dec. 23, 2017, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.
  • The previous 1.5-year high of 301,870 was reached on May 12.
  • The average has risen by 14% this month. 
  • Glassnode defines active entities as a "cluster of addresses controlled by the same network entity." This would include both businesses like exchanges and custodians and individuals.
  • The rise suggests that the number of users of the network is the highest since the cryptocurrency topped out at $20,000 in December 2017.
Seven-day average of Bitcoin active entities
Seven-day average of Bitcoin active entities
  • Matthew Dibb, co-founder of Stack, a provider of cryptocurrency trackers and index funds, told CoinDesk the climbing metric is the result of the DeFi frenzy spilling over onto bitcoin. 
  • The surge in active entities also suggests users are anticipating an uptick in bitcoin’s price volatility, he added.
  • While user numbers may be up, bitcoin's network activity is not at similar highs.
  • The seven-day moving average of bitcoin’s transaction count has increased by 23% over the past four months, but is well below the 2020 high registered on March 5.
  • Bitcoin is stuck in the narrow range of $9,400 to $9,000 for the fourth straight week, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index.

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

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