Top 10 Bitcoin Holders in the World: Who Owns the Most BTC? by Sarah Kutu

When Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin in 2010, only a limited few understood his vision for the digital currency. Though there have been thousands of assets since then, Bitcoin has maintained its status as the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and trading volume. 

As a result, both retail and institutional investors are interested in trading Bitcoin for its potential short-term gains or holding it for its future possibilities. However, this article focuses on individuals and entities with the most significant BTC holdings in the world. 

These are called Bitcoin whales, but why should we care about them? Keep reading to find out. 

Who is A Bitcoin Whale? 

A crypto whale is an individual or business organization with a large amount of a specific cryptocurrency. So, a Bitcoin whale has a significant amount of Bitcoin, enough to impact the broader crypto market. 

The amount of coins a whale owns is not cast in stone. However, there’s a belief that a whale must have at least 1,000 units of an asset. As of the time of writing in July 2024, Bitcoin’s price is around $65,000, so a whale has at least $65 million worth of BTC in their crypto wallet. 

Another sect of the industry states that a whale must have 10% of a coin’s circulating supply. That means as there are 19.73 million Bitcoins in circulation as of the time of writing this post, an investor must hold 1.973 million Bitcoins in their wallet to qualify as a Bitcoin whale. 

Of course, the higher the holding, the more significant the impact. So, whales are crucial to Bitcoin’s liquidity and circulating supply because the availability of their coins makes it easy for active traders to buy and sell Bitcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges. 

Their market movements are also insightful in understanding the broader market sentiment and predicting price actions. Only a small number of investors make up the crypto whale community, but if a whale is stacking up more Bitcoin, the coin’s demand will increase across the market. 

A massive sell sentiment among whales could also result in general sell pressure and sharp price declines. This is why some traders watch whale actions as part of their fundamental analysis. 

However, in some cases, the whales could be switching from one wallet to another, transferring across crypto exchanges, or making genuine large purchases. 

So, as a retail investor, you shouldn’t base your decisions on whale movements only or panic buy or sell off your coins in the whale’s direction based on one transaction. 

Who Owns the Most Bitcoin? 

Now that you understand the concept of crypto whales, you can make more sense of why we should care about the largest holders of Bitcoin. Simply put, they are highly influential in the crypto market. If a Bitcoin whale sneezes, the entire market can catch a cold. 

So, who are the top Bitcoin whales? We highlight them below. 

Satoshi Nakamoto 

Known as the father of Bitcoin and the first Bitcoin miner, it’s no surprise that Satoshi Nakamoto is one of the wealthiest Bitcoin investors. According to data from River Financial, the anonymous Satoshi mined about 22 thousand blocks of Bitcoin transactions and received over 1 million Bitcoins as mining rewards between 2009 and 2011.  

That puts Satoshi’s estimated Bitcoin holdings at approximately 1.1 million BTC, worth $71.5 billion based on the live BTC price at press time.

Interestingly, Satoshi’s holding is reportedly stored across 22,000 wallets, and the coins have never been used for other purposes except some network test transactions. 

Michael Saylor 

Michael Saylor is one of those whose Bitcoin investments cut across retail and institutional levels. The businessman and Bitcoin maximalist is vocally bullish about Bitcoin and he puts his money where his mouth is. 

Saylor reportedly owns over 17,000 BTC, and he revealed the same in a 2021 interview. On the institutional side, his company, MicroStrategy is one of the largest Bitcoin owners. As of April 2024, the business owned over 220,000 Bitcoins, as announced in its Q1 2024 financial results. 

The Winklevoss Brothers

You’ve probably heard of the Winklevoss twins, Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss as some of the biggest investors and entrepreneurs in the US. However, these brothers are among the world’s crypto whales. 

They were one of the earliest Bitcoin investors, and own the Gemini Exchange. According to Forbes, their Bitcoin holding is to the tune of 70,000 BTC. 

However, there was a recent Gemini breach that affected its earn program. The company has announced its plan to refund $2.18 billion to affected customers. If a part of the refund will be out of pocket, we may see a drop in the Winklevoss Brothers’ Bitcoin holdings. 

Barry Silbert 

Barry Silbert is another Bitcoin whale with retail and institutional investments. The billionaire is the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), a business entity with five cryptocurrency-focused companies under it. These include notable names like Grayscale and Genesis. 

There are reports of the businessman claiming he doesn’t have Bitcoin or meme coin holdings, but other reports say he owns about 250,000 Bitcoins. One thing is clear, though. His business entities own BTC.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reportedly holds hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins. DCG has also invested in over 160 blockchain and crypto companies, with a large chunk of its profits likely in BTC.  

Tim Draper 

Time Draper is a Silicon Valley investor and venture capitalist who also qualifies as a crypto whale. The businessman has made a fortune through crypto due to his numerous ecosystem investments and personal holdings. 

He was one of the earliest investors in Bitcoin and tech companies like Skype and Tesla. According to reports, Draper bought 29,000+ BTC in 2014. However, he personally claimed to own a little over 17,000 Bitcoins in a 2020 tweet. 

Changpeng Zhao 

Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ is another notable figure in the crypto space. The Canadian-Chinese is the global Binance Exchange. CZ was also the crypto trading platform’s CEO until 2023 when he stepped down after pleading guilty to breaking America’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws.  

Though the exact number of Bitcoin held by CZ is undisclosed publicly, he owns a major stake in Binance and the business conglomerates attached to the company. Undoubtedly, CZ has a significant market influence, and his holdings will be significant. 

Elon Musk

Elon Musk needs no introduction among tech and crypto enthusiasts. The billionaire founder of SpaceX and Tesla has always been vocal about cryptocurrencies. Even before he bought Twitter (now X) in 2022, his influence was felt in the meme coin market when he endorsed Dogecoin. 

When it comes to crypto holdings, Musk publicly disclosed that he doesn’t own a lot of Bitcoin. According to him, he has more Dogecoin in his wallet. 

However, his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX own about 10,000 BTC and 11,000 BTC, respectively. Their interest in Bitcoin investments highlights the recent trend of major corporations foraying into the crypto space. 

Brian Armstrong 

Brian Armstrong is the Coinbase Exchange CEO and co-founder. He is also one of the most influential people in the blockchain industry. Like CZ, Armstrong’s exact Bitcoin holdings are unknown. However, Coinbase reportedly owns 2,000,000 Bitcoins according to the billionaire. 

Considering that his company owns that high volume of BTC, many believe that Armstrong’s personal holdings are substantial. 

Anthony Pompliano 

If you’re familiar with the top crypto podcasts, you’ll already know Anthony Pompliano from “The Pomp” Podcast. The crypto podcast features interviews with some of the most influential people in the crypto and finance space. 

However, Pompliano is much more than a Bitcoin podcaster. He is the co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital, a hedge fund focused on investing in companies with digital innovations in crypto, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and computing infrastructure. 

Pompliano’s crypto influence goes beyond his company. He claims to have 80% of his entire wealth in Bitcoin, which was amassed through his early strategic Bitcoin investments.  

Roger Ver 

Roger Keith Ver is one of Bitcoin’s earliest investors who has made riches from the digital asset. The businessman is also known as “The Bitcoin Jesus” because he was one of the earliest advocates for cryptocurrencies and their possibilities. 

As an entrepreneur and the current CEO of Bitcoin.com, Ver is a famous entity because of his massive BTC holdings reported to be to the tune of 131,000 units by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during his tax evasion hearing. 

Moreover, there are reports that his crypto exchange also has significant Bitcoin holdings, ranking them among the highest institutional investors. 

Conclusion 

Bitcoin whales are wealthy individuals who have amassed massive Bitcoins over the years. Their stories have shown us that early adopters and investors in technological innovations stand to profit the most. 

Moreover, they’ve also shown the increasing interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies among institutions in recent times. 

At a time when more businesses are embracing crypto and infusing blockchain features into their products and services, you can catch up with the times. Want to build a forward-thinking business that’ll thrive in the Web3 industry? 

Zypto has various business offerings, including crypto payment gateway integration, crypto wallets, and diverse white-label solutions to speed up your launch. Contact the team today to find out how we can be part of your exciting journey. 

If you could go back in time to buy BTC when it was way cheap, would you be among the largest Bitcoin holders today? Let’s have some thoughts below.

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