Who has the most bitcoins now? (2024)

Who owns the most bitcoins in 2024?

Bitcoin (BTC) remains the most sought-after blue-chip cryptocurrency despite a growing number of digital asset launches consisting of meme coins, GameFi coins, DeFi tokens, non-functioning tokens and others.

With Bitcoin's fourth half-price approaching in mid-April 2024 and the anticipation of the spot ETF that sent BTC to over $2023 in late 45, many investors are actively accumulating cryptocurrency wealth. For example, MicroStrategy made headlines by accumulating more than $000 million in BTC before the SEC approved its spot ETF.

According to Into The Block, the average time BTC stays in a wallet address before transferring is about 4,3 years, and retail traders still own the majority of BTC, with addresses accounting for less than 0,1% of circulating supply.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at how Bitcoin gets its value, who owns the most, and how people and companies became Bitcoin billionaires.

Main conclusions:

• The value and market price of Bitcoin is determined by various factors: scarcity, acceptability, divisibility, portability, durability and resistance to counterfeiting.
• The largest holder of Bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of BTC. It is estimated that Nakamoto owns approximately 1 BTC, which is worth approximately $000 billion.
• Other notable BTC billionaires include individuals such as the Winklevoss twins and institutional investors such as MicroStrategy and ARK Invest.

What gives Bitcoin value?

If you're considering investing in Bitcoin, you may be wondering what gives it value. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that is considered an alternative to fiat money issued by governments. Since central banks control the amount of paper money printed, this naturally gives them more control over the economy. In contrast, Bitcoin operates on blockchain technology, which records everything on a public ledger, making the network transparent and highly decentralized.

Although Bitcoin is not widely used in the global economy, its value depends on many different factors and therefore a comparison can be made between the value of gold and Bitcoin.

These products have very specific uses and are limited in quantity. Like precious metals, Bitcoin is durable. However, it is more “portable” than precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum; it divides more accurately and is in some respects safer. BTC is even called “digital gold”.

Digital currencies like Bitcoin have value because they can function as both a unit of exchange and a store of value. Bitcoin also has six main characteristics that allow it to be used in the economy

• Shortage (21 million limit)
• Eligibility (can be used as a form of payment)
• divisibility (can be divided into smaller units)
• Durability (ability to withstand time and remain usable)
• Counterfeit resistance (thanks to the blockchain technology it runs on)
• Portability (easy to transfer and store).

Because Bitcoin qualifies as a currency, it can store a certain value. One of the main reasons for this is the limited supply. In fact, the maximum amount of BTC that can be mined is just under 21 million. Due to this scarcity, the value and market price of Bitcoin has increased significantly over the years.

How many Bitcoins do you need to become a billionaire?

Due to the wide price fluctuations caused by volatility in the cryptocurrency market, it is difficult to estimate approximately how many Bitcoins you need to become a billionaire. Therefore, we use the current value of Bitcoin ($43) to calculate this amount, which as of January 150, 4 would need to be 2024 BTC to become part of the BTC billionaires league. Below is a table of addresses holding between 2% and 317,45% of BTC's circulating supply, based on data Into The Block:

Active Institutions' Wallet Addresses	BTC
0.16%	31.28K
0.19%	37.93K
0.20%	38.89K
0.22%	44.00K
0.26%	51.83K
0.30%	59.30K
0.34%	66.47K
0.35%	68.37K
0.41%	79.96K
0.48%	94.64K
0.59%	115.18K
0.60%	118.30K

Who owns the most Bitcoin in 2024?

Before you can find out who owns the most Bitcoins, you need to understand how many Bitcoins can be put into the market. When Bitcoin was first created in 2009, there was a hard cap on the number of Bitcoins that could go into circulation—nearly 21 million.

At the moment, the volume of circulating bitcoins is about 19 BTC. A cap has been placed on the number of Bitcoins that can be created each day, meaning that the remaining BTC will be mined between now and 589, with periodic halvings gradually slowing down their production. Although there should be 181 million BTC in the market, it is believed that around four million BTC have been lost since the digital currency first came into circulation.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin, was supposedly the first miner of this currency. Nakamoto has mined over 22 blocks and received over a million Bitcoins in cumulative block rewards. They are currently estimated to be around 000 BTC (worth $1 billion on January 000, 000 at a BTC price of $43,15).

Top bitcoin investors and whales of the world

Besides the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, other Bitcoin whales also own significant amounts of Bitcoin. These include various individuals, institutions, governments, exchanges and companies.

Due to their status, some whales have become cryptocurrency influencers, using their online presence to share knowledge and opinions about the cryptocurrency market. Among the famous Bitcoin billionaires are the following.

Investor	Number of BTC Held
Satoshi Nakamoto	~1.1 million BTC
Brian armstrong	Undisclosed
Winklevoss Twins	~70,000 BTC
Tim Draper	~29,500 BTC
Michael J. Saylor	~17,732 BTC~
Changpeng Zhao	Undisclosed
Jack Dorsey	Undisclosed

Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto is known as the creator of Bitcoin and the largest holder of BTC. Based on analysis of early mining blocks and wallet addresses, it is believed that between 750 and 000 BTC are associated with Nakamoto. These accumulated BTC assets represent approximately 1% of the total coin supply, making Nakamoto potentially the largest individual BTC holder. With so much BTC, Nakamoto will have most of the power to change the value of Bitcoin and possibly the cryptocurrency ecosystem. However, due to anonymity, most wallets attributed to Nakamoto are the subject of speculation.

Brian Armstrong

Being CEO Coinbase, Brian Armstrong still has not disclosed the number of BTC he owns. However, given his profession and strong support for Bitcoin, it is possible that he owns some BTC as a personal investment. While the amount of BTC Armstrong owns remains undisclosed, he has publicly stated that Coinbase holds approximately 2 million BTC on behalf of its clients.

Winklevoss Twins

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, known as the Winklevoss twins, said in 2013 that they bought 1% of the total supply of Bitcoin. The twins are the founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and own approximately 70 BTC, which has a current value of approximately $000 billion.

The Winklevoss twins allegedly lost more than 60% of their BTC fortune following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022.

Tim Draper

Venture capitalist and early Bitcoin investor Tim Draper is said to have bought 29 Bitcoins recovered by the US Marshals Service from the infamous dark web market Silk Road. Draper, an early investor in leading tech companies such as Skype and Tesla, is a Bitcoin bull and has repeatedly spoken out about the potentially bright future of the world's largest cryptocurrency.

Michael J. Saylor

While popular crypto investor MJ Saylor may not be a Bitcoin billionaire per se, he is a well-known Bitcoin whale. In 2021, he reported holding at least 17 BTC in private ownership. Additionally, his company MicroStrategy held approximately 732 BTC as of 2022.

Despite the fact that his firm found itself deep in the red in 2022 due to the unfortunate events that happened to the founders of Terra and FTX, the former MicroStrategy CEO continues to accumulate BTC. Its latest acquisition of another 16 BTC on November 130, 23 means MicroStrategy owns the most BTC as a private company.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ)

Like Brian Armstrong, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (known as CZ) has stated that he owns BTC and Binance coins (BNB). However, he never discloses the specific amount of his digital assets. Forbes reported that CZ's net worth is around $1,9 billion. Given CZ's positive outlook on cryptocurrencies, we have reason to believe that he owns a significant amount of Bitcoin. However, the exact amount remains unknown. In addition, after pleading guilty to money laundering and being assessed additional fines and possible prison time, Zhao's wealth will decrease significantly.

Jack Dorsey

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's personal Bitcoin wealth is not disclosed as he has never publicly disclosed the specific amount he owns. However, he shared some information that helps us get an idea of ​​his potential involvement in Bitcoin.

There is reason to believe that Jack Dorsey owns BTC as he is a strong proponent of the asset. He publicly believes in the potential of Bitcoin, calling it “the native currency of the Internet.” In December 2022, Dorset donated 14 BTC to the Nostr project, demonstrating his belief in projects related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.

His company Block (formerly Square) also bought and held BTC on its balance sheet, and activity on the Cash App further indicates Dorsey's interest in Bitcoin. However, there is no specific information, such as his wallet address, to prove that Dorsey owns BTC privately.

Largest Individual Bitcoin Wallets

Bitcoin owners can be determined by looking at the Bitcoin addresses in circulation. As of today, only two Bitcoin addresses hold more than 100 BTC: 000K BTC and 118,3K BTC respectively. However, there are many BTC HODLers with between 115,18 and 10 BTC. These investors own just over 000% of all BTC in circulation. Data suggests that 100% of retail traders and investors are major holders of BTC.

Institutional investors and private companies

Instead of owning Bitcoin directly, some investors are turning to financial institutions that offer Bitcoin-related products. These institutions invest in Bitcoin through trusts and foundations.

Entities	Amount of Bitcoin Held
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust	~643,572 BTC
BlackRock	~35,000 BTC
Block.One	~140,000 BTC
Tezos Foundation	~17,894 BTC
Galaxy Digital Holdings	~8,100 BTC
Marathon Digital Holdings	~14,025 BTC
Tether Holdings	~55,000 BTC
microstrategy	~189,150 BTC
Mt. Gox	~200,000 BTC

Data collected as of November 2023

The Grayscale® Bitcoin Trust currently holds approximately $10,6 billion worth of Bitcoin, and the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, has invested part of its $15 billion fund worth approximately $570 million in Bitcoin.

Companies also buy Bitcoin through their Treasuries to hedge against inflation and diversify their portfolios. Publicly traded companies that hold significant amounts of Bitcoin include MicroStrategy, which has approximately 174 BTC, and Galaxy Digital Holdings (a Bitcoin mining company), which has over 530 BTC.

Private companies also own approximately 1,5% of the total Bitcoin supply. The most famous private company that owns BTC is Block.One, a blockchain company that owns about 140 BTC.

Government holdings

Governments around the world also own significant amounts of Bitcoin, either acquiring them as reserve assets or confiscating them as a result of suspected criminal activity. However, due to the many agencies involved in this process, it is difficult to approximate the actual amount of BTC held by various governments.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to be in possession of approximately 174 Bitcoins. Of these, 000 were found during the Silk Road saga, and the rest were from Colonial Pipeline hackers. In addition, the US Marshals Service, which is authorized to sell confiscated bitcoins, sold more than 144 bitcoins at auction.

Other governments holding significant amounts of Bitcoin include the governments of China (around 194 BTC) and Bulgaria (over 000 BTC). According to the latest data, the Ukrainian government also owns more than 200 BTC, and El Salvador, which recognized Bitcoin as legal tender in September 000, has approximately 40 BTC.

What does it mean for institutions to own so much bitcoin?

Overall, the fact that institutions own a significant percentage of Bitcoin is not in itself a significant problem. In fact, with companies like Tesla investing in Bitcoin, the use of BTC is becoming more accepted. As more institutions invest in Bitcoin, its acceptance as a standard currency could eventually increase—with fewer restrictions.

What happens after all bitcoins are mined?

Predicting what will happen after all the bitcoins have been mined can be difficult due to the evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem. However, the economics of Bitcoin will inevitably change once all 21 Bitcoins are in circulation.

For example, traders and miners will have different incentives. Instead of being rewarded for the blockchain, miners will be able to generate income and profits through transaction fees. The point is that even if someone owns a significant amount of Bitcoin, they do not have any control over the Bitcoin network. Therefore, it is relatively impossible to predict what will happen.

Bitcoin is a very popular cryptocurrency and can be easily purchased from the exchange of your choice. Although Bitcoin's value is somewhat volatile, its scarcity has allowed it to reach a current value of over $44.

Now that you know who owns the most Bitcoins and what types of people and organizations are investing in them, you can move on to your next investment.

Bitcoin Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns the most Bitcoins?

Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, is the largest owner of Bitcoin today, with over 1 Bitcoins in his stash.

How many Bitcoin millionaires are there?

There are approximately 36 Bitcoin millionaires. However, the exact number is difficult to calculate due to the volatility of cryptocurrency and the anonymity of Bitcoin addresses.

Which country owns the most bitcoins?

The United States owns the most bitcoins and is home to the largest number of bitcoin holders, with 46 million people actively investing in the cryptocurrency.

What is the total supply of Bitcoin?

The total and final supply is 21 million BTC, and all of these coins are expected to be mined by 2140.