Known Individual Bitcoin Holders in [year]: Bitcoin (BTC) is a pioneer of decentralized peer-to-peer payments and the largest cryptocurrency in the world with a market capitalization of more than $325bn, as of 8 December 2022. Bitcoin’s permissionless and censorship-resistant features have drawn a multitude of early adopters to the cryptocurrency. The number of active BTC-holding addresses surged from about 1,000 in July 2010 to a peak of more than 1.3 million by April 2021.
About Bitcoin: Decentralised payments
Known Individual Bitcoin Holders in [year]: Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that allows its holders to make online payments directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper in October 2008. The first block on the Bitcoin network was mined in January 2009, which rewarded its miner with the first BTC. New bitcoins are rewarded to miners who validate transactions and add the history of transactions to the public blockchain ledger.
Top Known Individual Bitcoin Holders in [year]
Known Individual Bitcoin Holders in [year]: Since launching around 13 years ago, bitcoin has been distributed far and wide to millions of wallets. These Bitcoin wallets are owned by individuals, public companies, private entities, and even governments. Among these holders, a few stand out because of their large bitcoin holdings. Who are the largest holders of bitcoin and how high is the concentration of bitcoin whales? Here we take a look at who owns the most bitcoins.
Large bitcoin holders with 1,000 or more BTC are known as whales. They can be individuals, companies, institutional investors, and even countries. What follows is a list of the entities and individuals that own the most bitcoin.
Top Known Individual Holders
Let’s take a look at the individuals that hold the most bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto (~1.1 million BTC)
Satoshi Nakamoto Life
Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in [year]: Satoshi Nakamoto was not only Bitcoin’s founder but also the first miner to add blocks of transactions to the Bitcoin blockchain. He mined approximately 22,000 blocks from January 3, 2009, until he left the project in 2011, acquiring 1.1 million BTC in exchange for his contribution. As of October 12, 2022, this amount is worth over $21 billion. Satoshi’s bitcoin stash is stored across an estimated 22,000 addresses. These coins have never been used except for several test transactions.
Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in [year]: Some Facts About Satoshi Nakamoto
- Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym for whoever penned the original Bitcoin whitepaper and is the identity credited with inventing Bitcoin itself.
- Several people have claimed or were thought to be Satoshi, but their true identity has never been verified or revealed.
- Given the price of BTC today, Satoshi would be a billionaire because it is rumored they hold nearly 1 million BTC.
Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in [year]: The Satoshi Nakamoto persona appeared to be involved in the early days of Bitcoin, working on the first version of the software in 2007.1 Communication to and from Nakamoto was conducted via email. The lack of personal and background details meant it was impossible to find out the actual identity behind the name.
A few things are known for sure about Nakamoto
Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in [year]: A few things are known for sure about Nakamoto as Follows
- First, using time stamps on Nakamoto’s posts and emails, it’s assumed that Nakamoto probably resided either in the U.K., the East Coast of the U.S., or the West Coast when posting about cryptocurrency.
- Second, Nakamoto was known to use the British/Commonwealth spelling of certain words like “favor,” with an added “U,” rather than the American “favor.” For this reason, some have speculated Nakamoto is from the U.K. or was educated in the U.K.
- Third, given the amount of Bitcoin traced to wallets presumably owned by Satoshi Nakamoto, Nakamoto is most certainly a billionaire. Although, none of that Bitcoin has ever been removed or even moved from any of those wallets to another.
- So, there is most likely a real person behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Still, given the world’s difficulty finding the figure, Satoshi Nakamoto is probably not that person’s actual name.
Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in [year]
Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in [year]: Nobody knows how much Satoshi Nakamoto is worth, and this is due to the anonymous nature of Bitcoin and investigators’ inability to be certain which wallets Nakamoto owns. It’s assumed that Nakamoto owns at least 1 million Bitcoins. At today’s prices, it can be assumed Nakamoto owns roughly $20 billion in BTC.
The Winklevoss Twins (70,000 BTC)
The Winklevoss Twins Life
The Winklevoss Twins Net Worth in [year]: After settling a dispute with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg in 2008 for $65 million, the twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss amassed a great deal of wealth in crypto assets. They reportedly own 70,000 BTC and have invested in many crypto businesses through their VC firm, Winklevoss Capital.
The Winklevoss Twins Net Worth in [year]: The twins have also invested in other cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin and established the crypto exchange Gemini in 2014. They were on Forbes 2022 blockchain and crypto billionaires list. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss grew up in Pennsylvania. They attended Harvard University with Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, and CEO of Facebook. The twins graduated in 2004. It was during this time that they began working on social media platform called ConnectU.
The Winklevoss Twins Net Worth in [year]: Shortly after settling the lawsuit, the brothers competed in the rowing finals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing China. Tyler and Cameron later sued their classmate Zuckerberg, accusing him of stealing their idea to create Facebook; the resulting legal battle eventually led to a $65 million settlement in their favor.
The Winklevoss Twins Net Worth in [year]: They constituted one of the 14 teams that qualified that year. They placed sixth. The Winklevoss twins invested $11 million in bitcoin in 2013, when the price was around $120. By late 2017, when the value of bitcoin surpassed $10,000 per coin, that investment became worth over $1 billion. Tyler Winklevoss has said that he believes it to be a “very real possibility” that the market cap for bitcoin could be in the trillions.
The Winklevoss Twins Net Worth in [year]
The Winklevoss Twins Net Worth in [year]: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss compete on day one of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Aug. 9. By late 2021, Gemini was on fire, and crypto prices were soaring to new record highs each day, leaving the identical twins with a combined net worth of over $7 billion.
Tim Draper (29,000+ BTC)
Tim Draper Introduction
Tim Draper Net Worth in [year]: Venture Capitalist Tim Draper, known for his early investments in companies such as Skype and Tesla, first purchased bitcoin in 2012. This was followed by a purchase of 29,656 BTC for $18.7 million two years later via a U.S. Marshals’ auction of bitcoin confiscated from the infamous dark web marketplace, Silk Road. Draper may have bought more BTC in the years that followed.
Tim Draper Net Worth in [year]: Draper is the third in a familial line of venture capitalists and government officials. He is the son of Phyllis and William Henry Draper III and the younger brother of actress Polly Draper. His father is the founder of Draper & Johnson Investment Company and former chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Tim Draper Net Worth in [year]: His grandfather, William Henry Draper Jr., founded Draper, Gaither, and Anderson in 1958 and served as the first ambassador to NATO. Draper attended Phillips Academy Andover before matriculating to Stanford University, where he graduated with a BS in electrical engineering in 1980. He later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1984.
Tim Draper Net Worth in [year]
Tim Draper Net Worth in [year]: Tim Draper is an American venture capital investor who has a net worth of $600 million. Tim Draper is the founder of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. He is also a highly successful investor in bitcoin. Tim Draper famously paid just $19 million in 2014 for 30,000 bitcoins that had been confiscated by US Marshalls from the former operator of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht. Within a few years, those 30,000 coins had grown to be worth nearly $2 billion.
Michael Saylor (17,732 BTC)
Michael Saylor Life
Michael Saylor Net Worth In [year]: Michael Saylor is a well-known Bitcoin maximalist. You’ll often find him publishing bullish Bitcoin tweets or making headlines through his company MicroStrategy, which is constantly buying bitcoin, even during crypto bear markets. On a personal note, however, Saylor reportedly owns at least 17,732 bitcoin.
Michael Saylor Net Worth In [year]: The American entrepreneur revealed his personal bitcoin holdings in a November 2021 interview. Many other individuals own a lot of BTC but have not publicly disclosed the amounts. For example, this data from River Financial shows six unknown individuals with more than 49,000 BTC in their possession.
Michael Saylor Net Worth In [year]: Michael Saylor is an American entrepreneur, executive, inventor, author, and philanthropist. He was born to a military family in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1965 and spent his childhood living on various U.S. Air Force bases around the world. By his teenage years, his family had settled at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio—the birthplace of aviation and home of the Wright brothers. He graduated from high school first in his class, served as both class marshal and valedictorian, and was voted most likely to succeed by his peers.
Michael Saylor Net Worth In [year]
Michael Saylor Net Worth In [year]: The estimated net worth of Michael Saylor is $2.6 billion. Known primarily for his company MicroStrategy and Saylor Academy as his main businesses. His secondary claim to fame is his bullish Bitcoin investments. Saylor is a crypto whale holding around 130,000 Bitcoins.
Top Companies Holding Bitcoin
Let’s take a look at the companies that hold the most bitcoin.
Known Individual Bitcoin Holders in [year]: Public Companies
More than 20 public companies have added bitcoin (BTC) to their balance sheets. Below are the top four holders.
MicroStrategy (130,000 BTC)
MicroStrategy (MSTR) is a prolific bitcoin buyer. Since making its first purchase in August 2020, the company cannot help but buy more. Based on the purchase history on Buy Bitcoin Worldwide, MicroStrategy has made more than 20 bitcoin purchases, bringing its total holdings to 130,000 BTC as of September 20, 2022.
The company may have inspired other public companies to add BTC to their balance sheets. In its most recent purchase, MicroStrategy bought 301 BTC in September for $6 million despite the bear market. The average buying price per coin was $30,623. Earlier that month, the company filed to sell $500 million in stock to buy more bitcoin.
Galaxy Digital Holdings (40,000 BTC)
Galaxy Digital (GLXY) is a financial services and investment management firm that is also involved in Bitcoin mining. The company has 40,000 BTC in its holdings.
Voyager Digital Limited (12,260 BTC)
Voyager Digital (VYGVQ) may have held 12,260 BTC when it filed for bankruptcy in July 2022. Crypto exchange FTX will acquire the assets of the bankrupt crypto broker after winning a bid in late September 2022. Voyager cited the bear market and Three Arrows Capital’s collapse as the reasons it was filing for bankruptcy. Three Arrows had defaulted on a loan given by one of its subsidiaries.
Tesla, Inc. (10,725 BTC)
Tesla (TSLA) bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February 2021 (about 4,200 BTC), causing a flurry of excitement in the crypto space. The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, tweeted “#bitcoin,” a post that resulted in a 17% surge in the digital asset’s price. Tesla also revealed plans to accept bitcoin as a form of payment. Nevertheless, the excitement of this news was short-lived because a few months later, Tesla suspended car purchases using BTC.
It said it would resume BTC payments once Bitcoin mining with renewable energy reached 50%. Moreover, it sold 75% of its bitcoin holdings during the 2022 crypto bear market adding $936 million to its balance sheet. This move was contrary to Musk’s 2021 tweet saying: “Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin.” Other public companies that own bitcoin are Coinbase Global, Argo Blockchain PLC, Hut 8 Mining Corp, and Bitfarms Limited, among others.
Known Individual Bitcoin Holders in [year]: Private Companies
Let’s take a look at the largest known bitcoin holders among private companies.
Mt. Gox (141,686 BTC)
Mt. Gox was one of the earliest Bitcoin exchanges. It was launched in 2010 and handled 70% of all global Bitcoin transactions by the time it ceased operations in early 2014. The Japanese exchange was a victim of several hacking attacks that led to the loss of users’ funds. The exchange filed for bankruptcy in April 2014.
A September 2022 announcement revealed that Mt. Gox clients are close to receiving a $3 billion bitcoin payout that will redistribute stolen funds. The now-defunct company reportedly holds 141,686 BTC.
Block.one (140,000 BTC)
Block.one is the company behind the cryptocurrency EOS (EOS). The company was sued by investors in 2020, alleging its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) was a securities sale. It is also facing resistance from the EOS community, which believes the company is no longer working toward the network’s best interest. Block. one still owns 140,000 bitcoin.
The Tezos Foundation (17,500 BTC)
The Tezos Foundation is a Swiss-based entity that supports the Tezos protocol and ecosystem. It reportedly holds approximately 17,500 BTC.
Check Also: Top 10 Detailed Myths About Bitcoin
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Much Is Satoshi Nakamoto Worth?
Nakamoto reportedly holds 1 million bitcoins. The total value depends upon market conditions and Bitcoin’s price. For example, if Bitcoin had a market value of $29,000, the total value would be $29 billion.
Is Satoshi Nakamoto a Real Person?
No one knows if Nakamoto is one person or a group using a pseudonym. However, it is safe to say that real people were behind Bitcoin’s design.
Did Satoshi Nakamoto Disappear?
Because Satoshi chose to be anonymous, it cannot be determined if the person or group using the name disappeared or not.
How did Michael Saylor build his net worth?
Saylor is worth $2.6 billion dollars generated through a diverse set of assets.
Which cryptocurrency will rise in 2023?
Metacade – The best all-around crypto coin with 50x potential, Ripple (XRP) – The best DeFi investment for 2023, Shiba Inu (SHIB) – Meme coin with serious plans for 2023, Polygon (MATIC) – Layer 2 network solution looks set for growth in 2023, The Sandbox (SAND) – Decentralized metaverse platform with celeb backing.
