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Bitcoin (BTC) remains the most in-demand blue-chip cryptocurrency, despite the growing launches of digital assets consisting of meme coins, GameFi coins, DeFi tokens, non-fungible tokens and more.
With the fourth Bitcoin halving approaching in mid-April 2024 and the fueled anticipation of a spot ETF that sent BTC to over $45,000 at the end of 2023, many investors are proactively accumulating crypto wealth. For example, MicroStrategy is making headlines for accumulating over $615.7 million worth of BTC ahead of the SEC’s spot ETF approval.
According to data from IntoTheBlock, the average time that BTC stays at a wallet address before being transferred is about 4.3 years, while retail traders still hold the majority of BTC with addresses that own less than 0.1% of the circulating supply.
This article comprehensively examines how Bitcoin gets its value, who owns the most, and how people and companies have become Bitcoin billionaires.
Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin's value and market price are derived from various factors: Scarcity, acceptability, divisibility, portability, durability and resistance to counterfeiting.
The largest holder of Bitcoin is believed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of BTC. Nakamoto is estimated to own approximately 1,000,000 BTC, worth around $43.62 billion.
Other notable BTC billionaires include individuals like the Winklevoss twins and institutional investors, such as MicroStrategy and ARK Invest.
If you’re considering investing in Bitcoin, you may wonder what gives it its value. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency considered to be an alternative to fiat money, which is issued by governments. Since central banks control the amount of paper money being printed, this naturally gives them more control over economies. In comparison, Bitcoin operates using blockchain technology that records everything on a public ledger, making its network transparent and highly decentralized.
Although Bitcoin isn’t widely used in the world economy, it gets its value from many different factors, and a comparison can thus be made between the values of gold and Bitcoin.
These commodities have very specific use cases and are limited in quantity. Like precious metals, Bitcoin is durable. However, it’s more “portable” than precious metals like gold, silver and platinum; it's more precisely divisible and in some regards, safer. BTC is even referred to as “digital gold.”
Digital currencies such as Bitcoin have value because they can function as both a unit of exchange and a store of value. Bitcoin also displays six core attributes that allow it to be used in economies
Scarcity (21 million limit)
Acceptability (can be used as a form of payment)
Divisibility (can be divided into smaller units)
Durability (able to withstand time and remain usable)
Resistance to counterfeiting (due to the blockchain technology on which it operates)
Portability (ease of transferring and storing)
Since Bitcoin qualifies as a currency, it can retain a certain amount of value. One of the main reasons is the scarcity of its supply. In fact, the maximum number of BTC that can be mined is just under 21 million. This level of scarcity makes it possible for Bitcoin's value and market price to increase considerably over the years.
The extreme price fluctuations caused by volatility in the crypto market make it difficult to approximate how many Bitcoins you’d need to be a billionaire. Therefore, we use a current value of Bitcoin ($43,150) to calculate that amount, which, as of Jan 4, 2024, would be 2,317.45 BTC to be part of the BTC billionaires league. Based on the data from IntoTheBlock, the addresses that own between 0.1% to 1% of the circulating BTC supply are tabulated below:
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 |
Source: IntoTheBlock, Jan 4, 2024
Before learning who owns the most Bitcoin, knowing how much Bitcoin can be introduced into the market is crucial. When Bitcoin was first created in 2009, a hard cap of nearly 21 million was placed on the number of bitcoins that could enter circulation.
At the moment, the circulating Bitcoin supply is around 19,589,181 BTC. Limits have been placed on how much Bitcoin can be created each day, which means that the remaining BTC will be mined from now until the year 2140 with periodic halving, which progressively slows their mining. Even though 19.5 million BTC should be on the market, it’s believed that around four million BTC have been lost since the digital currency first entered circulation.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin, was putatively the first miner of the currency. Nakamoto mined over 22,000 blocks and received over one million bitcoins as cumulative block rewards. Their current ownership is estimated at around 1,000,000 BTC (worth $43.15 billion as of Jan 4, 2024, at a BTC price of $43,150).
Image Source: IntoTheBlock
Apart from the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, numerous other Bitcoin whales hold significant Bitcoin. These include various individuals, institutions, governments, exchanges and companies.
Due to their status, some whale individuals have become crypto influencers, using their online presence to share knowledge and sentiments about the crypto market. Some of the notable Bitcoin billionaires are as follows.
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 is known to be the creator of Bitcoin and the largest BTC holder. Based on the analysis of early mining blocks and wallet addresses, around 750,000 to 1,110,000 BTC are believed to be associated with Nakamoto. These accumulated BTC assets amount to approximately 5% of the coin's total supply, making Nakamoto potentially the largest individual BTC holder. With that amount of BTC, Nakamoto will have the majority of the power to alter the course of Bitcoin’s value and possibly the ecosystem of cryptocurrencies. However, due to anonymity, most wallets attributed to Nakamoto are subject to speculation.
As the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong has yet to disclose the amount of BTC he owns. However, based on his profession and his vocal support for Bitcoin, it’s not unlikely that he holds some BTC as a personal investment. Although the amount BTC Armstrong holds remains undisclosed, he has publicly announced that Coinbase holds approximately 2 million BTC on behalf of its customers.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, popularly known as the Winklevoss twins, revealed in 2013 that they had bought 1% of the total Bitcoin supply. The twins are the founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, and hold around 70,000 BTC, with a current value of about $18.67 billion.
The Winklevoss twins purportedly lost over 60% of their BTC wealth following the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange in November 2022.
Venture capitalist and early Bitcoin investor Tim Draper is said to have bought 29,656 bitcoins recovered by the U.S. Marshals Service from the infamous Silk Road dark web market. Draper, who invested early in leading tech companies such as Skype and Tesla, is a Bitcoin bull who’s been vocal about the potentially bright future of the world's largest cryptocurrency.
While popular crypto influencer Michael J. Saylor may not qualify as a Bitcoin billionaire per se, he's a well-known Bitcoin whale. In 2021, he revealed that he privately possessed at least 17,732 BTC. Furthermore, his firm, MicroStrategy, reportedly held about 132,500 BTC as of 2022.
Despite his firm being buried deep in red in 2022 from the unfortunate events perpetrated by the founders of Terra and FTX, MicroStrategy’s former CEO continues to accumulate BTC. His latest acquisition of an additional 16,130 BTC on November 23, 2023, means that MicroStrategy holds the most BTC as a privately held company.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ)
Similar to Brian Armstrong, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (known as CZ) has stated that he holds BTC and Binance coin (BNB). However, he never reveals the specific amount of his digital assets. Forbes reported that CZ’s net worth is around $1.9 billion. With 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 a guilty plea to money laundering and facing additional fines and potential incarceration, Zhao’s wealth will have taken a significant hit.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's personal Bitcoin holdings are undisclosed, as he has never publicly revealed the specific amount he owns. However, he has shared some information that helps us piece together his potential involvement with Bitcoin.
Evidence suggests Jack Dorsey owns BTC, as he’s a vocal advocate for the asset. He publicly believes in Bitcoin’s potential, having called it the “internet’s native currency.” Dorset donated 14 BTC for the Nostr project in December 2022, demonstrating his belief in projects associated with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.
His company, Block (formerly Square), has also purchased and held BTC on its balance sheet, with activity on its Cash App further suggesting Dorsey’s interest in Bitcoin. However, there’s no concrete information, such as the ownership of his wallet address, to prove that Dorsey privately owns BTC.
Bitcoin ownership can be identified by looking at Bitcoin addresses in circulation. As of today, only two Bitcoin addresses hold more than 100,000 BTC, with 118.3K BTC and 115.18K BTC, respectively. However, there are plenty of BTC HODLers with anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 BTC. These investors hold a little over 8% of all the total BTC in circulation. Data suggests that 88.84% of the retail traders and investors are the majority holders of BTC.
Data source: IntoTheBlock
Rather than own Bitcoin directly, some investors have been turning to financial institutions offering Bitcoin-related products. These institutions invest in Bitcoin through trusts and funds.
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 |
Grayscale® Bitcoin Trust currently holds around $10.6 billion worth of Bitcoin, while the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has invested part of its $15 billion fund into Bitcoin, worth around $570 million.
Companies have also been buying into Bitcoin through their treasuries to hedge against inflation and diversify their portfolios. Notable publicly traded companies holding a significant amount of Bitcoin include MicroStrategy, with around 174,530 BTC, and Galaxy Digital Holdings (a Bitcoin mining firm), which has over 8,000 BTC.
Private companies also hold around 1.5% of the total Bitcoin supply. The highest-profile privately owned company of BTC is Block.One is a blockchain company with around 140,000 BTC.
Governments worldwide also own significant amounts of Bitcoin either through acquiring it as a reserve asset or confiscating it due to alleged criminal activity. However, due to the many agencies involved in the process, it's difficult to approximate the actual number of BTC held by various governments.
The U.S. government’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is said to possess around 174,000 Bitcoins. Of these, 144,000 were recovered from the Silk Road saga, and others from Colonial Pipeline hackers. Additionally, the U.S. Marshals Service, which has the mandate to sell seized Bitcoin, is said to have auctioned over 185,000 Bitcoins.
Other governments holding substantial amounts of Bitcoin include those of China (roughly 194,000 BTC) and Bulgaria (over 200,000 BTC). The latest data suggests that the Ukrainian government also holds over 40K BTC, while El Salvador, which recognized Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021, holds an estimated 2,381 BTC.
In general, the fact that institutions own a sizable percentage of Bitcoin isn’t a substantial problem in and of itself. In fact, when companies such as Tesla invest in Bitcoin, the use of BTC becomes more widely accepted. As more and more institutions invest in Bitcoin, its adoption as a standard currency may eventually increase — with fewer limitations.
Users can choose to buy BTC on Bybit via multiple payment methods.
Click on Buy Crypto → One-Click Buy on the top left corner of the navigation bar to enter the One-Click Buy page.
If you’re using a credit/debit card payment for the first time, please add your credit/debit card information first.
Select the fiat currency with which you want to pay.
Select the coin you would like to receive in your Funding Account.
Enter the purchase amount. You can enter the transaction amount based on fiat currency or coin amount, according to your needs.
Select the credit/debit card you've added.
Click on Buy With.
Please confirm that the details you’ve entered are correct, and click on Confirm.
Wait for the card payment to be processed. This usually takes ~ 10–30 seconds.
Once the transaction is completed, click on View Asset to check your balance.
The fee structure of P2P trading corresponds to two types: Taker and Maker.
The Taker is the user who buys or sells coins by placing an order through existing advertisements on the P2P platform.
The Maker is the user who posts trade advertisements.
Click on Buy Crypto, then select P2P Trading in the top left corner of the navigation bar to enter the P2P Trading page.
On the Buy page, you can filter advertisers, based on your transaction needs, by entering your desired criteria for Amount, Fiat Currencies and Payment Methods.
Choose your preferred advertiser, and click on Buy USDT/BTC/ETH.
Enter the amount of fiat you want to pay or the amount of coins you want to receive, and click on Buy to proceed.
Click on Payment Completed once you've completed the payment.
Once the seller has successfully released your purchased coins, click on Check Asset to view them, as well as your transaction history. You can also check your order status from the P2P Order History.
If the seller fails to release the coins after 10 minutes, you can click on Submit Appeal. Our customer support team will reach out to you.
In the navigation bar, click on Buy Crypto → Fiat Deposit to enter the Fiat Deposit page.
Select the fiat currency (for example, EUR) you want to deposit in the account.
Then, enter the desired deposit amount and select Bank Transfer (SEPA) as your preferred payment method for EUR currency.
Note: Bank transfer method differs from one currency to another. Please check before proceeding.
Enter the Payment Details, including your Name and Identity Number.
Click on I've read and agreed to Bybit's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Then, click on Continue.
Note: Depending upon your chosen payment method, you can fund your account directly from your bank account, or choose an alternative payment method from the providers supported on Bybit at the payment page.
To check your order status, click on Check Order. You can click on Check Assets to view the successfully deposited assets.
Complete the process by confirming your transactions. Check your wallet's account balance to ensure you keep your account funded.
Read more: How to Buy Bitcoin on Bybit
Predicting what will occur once all bitcoins have been mined can be difficult because of the developing cryptocurrency ecosystem. However, the economics of Bitcoin will invariably change once all 21,000,000 bitcoins are in circulation.
For instance, traders and miners will have dissimilar incentives. Instead of receiving block rewards, miners could earn revenues and profits from transaction fees. The truth is, even if someone owns a significant amount of Bitcoin, they don’t possess any control over the Bitcoin network. Thus, predicting what will happen is relatively impossible.
Bitcoin is a highly popular cryptocurrency and can easily be purchased on your preferred exchange. Even though the value of Bitcoin is somewhat volatile, its scarcity has allowed it to reach a current value of more than $44,000.
Now that you know who owns the most Bitcoin and what types of individuals and institutions invest in it, you can get started with making your next investment.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, is the largest Bitcoin holder to date, with a stash of over 1,000,000 Bitcoins.
There are roughly 36,000 Bitcoin millionaires. However, the exact number is difficult to calculate, due to cryptocurrency’s volatility and the anonymity of Bitcoin addresses.
The U.S. owns the most Bitcoin and has the largest number of Bitcoin holders, with a staggering 46 million individuals actively engaging in cryptocurrency investments.
There's a total and finite supply of 21 million BTC, with all of those coins expected to be mined by 2140.
#Bybit #TheCryptoArk