Vladimir Club

The term "Vladimir Club" made its first appearance in relation to Bitcoin on the BitcoinTalk forum in 2012. It emerged shortly after a user named Vladimir advocated that possessing 0.01% of Bitcoin's total supply was a sound investment. Given that Bitcoin's maximum supply is 21,000,000 coins, anyone holding over 2,100 BTC is considered a member of the Vladimir Club.

Joining the club was much more affordable in the past compared to the present. In 2012, the value of one Bitcoin was approximately $11, requiring a $23,100 investment to become part of the Vladimir Club. However, in 2022, around $60,900,00 would be needed to attain membership, as the price of a Bitcoin was roughly $29,000.

Originally, the maximum anticipated number of club members was 10,000, based on the assumption that all members would mine and divide the coins equally. However, the actual maximum number of members is considerably lower due to some Bitcoin holders possessing significantly more than 2,100 BTC.

Moreover, a substantial number of coins are inaccessible for two primary reasons: either the private keys have been irretrievably lost, or they were sent to invalid addresses and cannot be recovered. Estimating the exact number of Vladimir Club members is challenging as many Bitcoin holders distribute their wealth across numerous addresses, and some of the wealthiest addresses may be owned by the same individual. Nonetheless, projections suggest that the Vladimir Club likely comprises between 500 and 600 members.

The concept of the Vladimir Club has now become commonly used to describe cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.