GlossaryActive addresses (BTC)
Active addresses (BTC)
The number of daily active Bitcoin addresses, smoothed over a week and shown as a percentage deviation from its own yearly average. The absolute value says little across the years because the network grows; the deviation shows whether it is currently being used more or less than usual.
Zones
| Zone | Range |
|---|---|
| Extreme activity | from +50% |
| High activity | +20 to +50% |
| Medium activity | 0 to +20% |
| Low activity | below 0% |
Reference lines are at −20, 0, +20 and +50%. Above +50% and below −20%, the pane is lightly shaded; −20% is only a guide, not a zone of its own.
How to read it
- Confirmation: If the price rises while activity is above its yearly average, the move is carried by more usage.
- Divergence: If the price rises while activity falls below its yearly average, the move has thinner backing.
- Extremes: Values above +50% are a regime of their own, such as hype or a wave of new transaction types, and not simply “even more bullish”.
Limitations
- Addresses are not users: One person often uses many addresses, and exchanges pool many users on a few. The number measures on-chain activity, not heads.
- Warm-up period: The curve only starts once the smoothing and the yearly average are full, on daily candles after about 370 candles.
- Bitcoin only, intended for daily to weekly charts.