In January, the number of unique active Bitcoin addresses reached 22.3 million amid a rise in network activity and the first cryptocurrency's exchange rate, which exceeded $42,000.
A new milestone in Bitcoin's history was marked by cryptocurrency market data aggregator Glassnode. According to the company, the number of active Bitcoin addresses reached a new record in January:
"In January, more than 22.3 million unique addresses were active online, sending or receiving BTC - the highest monthly total in Bitcoin history to date."
The January surge in activity surpasses the previous record of 21 million active addresses in December 2017. Since 2017, the number of unique active Bitcoin addresses has not dropped below 10 million per month.
Analysts also noted that the number of "active address groups" on the Bitcoin network has decreased significantly since the peak to new highs in early January. Glassnode defines such groups as "clusters of addresses that are controlled by the same user."
BTC trading volumes rose to record levels last month when bitcoin surpassed $41,000 for the first time on January 8. However, the first cryptocurrency briefly declined to $28,800 in late January and bitcoin is now trading at $34,132.
Late last month, bitcoin volatility climbed to March 2020 levels when all markets collapsed at the start of the pandemic. Previously, volatility reached peak levels during bull market periods.