Regardless of your knowledge of Cryptocurrencies, you must be familiar with Bitcoin (BTC), the first Cryptocurrency and the most valuable Crypto for that matter. Although it has been extolled for its decentralization, whales, persons, and companies still hold huge amounts of Crypto.
So, who has the most Bitcoin, and why does it matter to the public?
Who Are Bitcoin Whales?
There are about 19.5 million BTCs in circulation, and the total supply is 21 million BTCs; that is why so many investors are curious about who possesses the largest quantities. Whales are individuals who hold very large amounts of a given Crypto asset compared to other investors in the digital space. Their significance in the Crypto market is their capability to significantly alter the course of the trends and prices of specific Cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, whales also play a role in BTC liquidity, which means how quickly and without affecting BTC’s price one can purchase or sell it. Holding large crypto quantities leads to a deeper market through large purchase and sell orders, offering many trading options and less price fluctuation.
One Nikita Buzov, CEO and Founder of Solace, said, “Understanding the flow of the liquidity and where it is positioned, one can see the sentiment, predict movements in price and know early imminent large liquidations.”
Who Owns the Most BTC?
According to River Intelligence, a Bitcoin research and analysis company, Satoshi Nakamoto remains the largest BTC holder in 2024. The company, however, has it that Satoshi Nakamoto owns approximately 22,000 different BTC addresses that contain approximately 1.1 million BTC tokens.
Interestingly, CoinCarp says the top 10 holders only possess 5% of BTC, thus breaking the mould of many Alts and the total BTC supply as of July 2024.
Their wallet addresses are open and accessible to the public, while the owners are anonymous unless at their discretion. This makes it difficult to know precisely who holds exactly how much Bitcoin since the identities of the various big holders cannot be easily ascertained.
5 Largest Individual Bitcoin Billionaires
- Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase.
- Michael Saylor, entrepreneur and CEO of MicroStrategy, reportedly owns at least 17,000 BTC (and MicroStrategy owns around 193,000 BTC).
- Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance.
- Tim Draper, a tech billionaire, famously purchased 30,000 BTC at a discount when the US Marshalls Service auctioned them off after seizing them from the Silk Road black market.
- The Winklevoss Twins, of Facebook fame, bet heavily on BTC in 2012/2013.
Satoshi Nakamoto owns the most significant amount of BTC today; however, the asset creator did not utilize any assets except for several test transactions.
Biggest Celebrity Bitcoin Owners
Who are the celebrities holding the highest amount of BTC today? As per CoinMarketCap report in 2021, the top three celebrities who owned BTC were Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Mike Tyson.
- Elon Musk disclosed holding BTC during the 2021 B-Word conference. Despite environmental concerns, Musk plans to hold BTC long-term.
- The former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is known for saying, “I only have Bitcoin.”
- Mike Tyson, a prominent supporter since 2015, partnered with Bitcoin Direct to launch a Bitcoin ATM in Las Vegas.
Other stars like Maisie Williams, Snoop Dogg, and Kanye West also disclosed that they own BTC.
10 Companies Holding the Most BTC
Typically, Bitcoin is the premier Cryptocurrency, and corporations, financial institutions, and other types of AIFs have had to acquire Bitcoins. According to CoinGecko, the top holders of Bitcoin among publicly listed companies as of April 24, 2024, include:
- MicroStrategy.
- Tesla.
- Galaxy Digital Holdings.
- Voyager Digital.
- Marathon Digital Holdings.
5 Crypto Exchanges Holding the Most BTC
When you hold BTC on an exchange, the exchange holds Bitcoin on your behalf, which appears in the top Bitcoin wallets, especially Binance, which has multiple BTC wallets.
As of June 2024:
- Binance holds around 504,000 BTC.
- BitFinex holds around 180,000 BTC.
- OKX holds 62,000 BTC.
- Crypto.com holds around 24,000 BTC.
- BitMEX holds around 13,000 BTC.
Which Countries Own the Most Bitcoin?
BTC holdings in nations, especially those that have adopted it as legal tender, such as El Salvador and the Central African Republic, can design and implement infrastructural support for Cryptocurrencies to connect them to the real economy. In turn, this could help expand the supply of Crypto and, therefore, lower the impact of the concentration and improve the ownership and distribution of Bitcoin.
In 2021, El Salvador made BTC a legal tender; even all the businesses in the country are legally required to accept payments with BTC. The Central African Republic also followed suit, alluding to the fact that the Cryptocurrency would ensure the country secures an independent financial future.
Image Source: Adobe Stock
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used for legal, tax, investment or financial advice.
