It has been estimated that approximately 6.25% of the total bitcoin supply has been deposited with Xapo – a Hong-Kong Based company providing bitcoin wallet, cold storage, and bitcoin-based debit card services. Xapo claims that BTC deposited with company are held in underground vaults located across five continents.
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Approximately 1,000,000 BTC Estimated to be Held by Xapo
According to Bloomberg, two customers of Xapo have estimated that the company “houses roughly $10 billion” USD worth of bitcoin. According to data from coinmarketcap, the estimate would mean that Xapo holds slightly more than 6.25% of BTC’s $159.5 billion market capitalization, or approximately 1,067,140 BTC.
If the estimate is correct, within five years of having been founded, Xapo has received more deposits than 98 percent of banks in the United States.
Xapo was founded by Wence Casares, and Argentinian entrepreneur who became involved with cryptocurrency after recognizing the potential for bitcoin to provide a means for Argentinians to bypass the extreme hyperinflation besieging the country.
Xapo’s Fast Rise to Prominence
After purchasing his first bitcoins in 2011, Mr. Casares built a ‘vault’ in order to securely store is coins. Shortly after, friends of Mr. Casares, and eventually financial institutions, would ask if they could store their bitcoins in the vault, laying the foundations for what in 2013 became the Xapo company.
Reid Hoffman, Linkedin co-founder and partner at Greylock Partners, described Xapo as “the first folks who recognized custodial and security functions would be key.” In 2014, Greylock Partners made a $20 million investment in Xapo, with Mr. Hoffman recounting that Mr. Casares “made the pitch in the morning and in the afternoon I called him with an offer.”
Ryan
