- Despite newbies flocking into the crypto market, long hands remain some of the highest Bitcoin whales.
- More than 2.4 million Bitcoins held by long-term holders are inaccessible.
As demand for Bitcoin rises, big hands are scooping up as many Bitcoins as they can handle. However, the distribution pattern is still largely a mystery. After Bitcoin soared above $60,000 this year, new buyers are making their way into the market. However, long-term players are still some of the largest Bitcoin whales. New reports have revealed insights into the many key players with the largest Bitcoin holdings.
The highest number of Bitcoins totaling an estimated 2.4 million BTC have been lost, as some of the holders were either fraudulent or some of the accounts holding said Bitcoins were abandoned.
Crypto exchanges are closely behind with 2.3 million BTC under their possession. Binance, Bitfinex, Coinbase, Robinhood, and OKX are the leading exchanges holding an estimated 11% of all existing Bitcoins. Notably, exchanges like MT. GOX, despite experiencing one of the major hacks in Bitcoin’s history, is still home to an old wallet holding 82,000.
On the other hand, unknown whales hold 1.6 million Bitcoins, and yet-to-be-mined Bitcoins total at an estimated 1.4 million. The upcoming halving will result in a reduction in supply, as such, the above numbers will be subject to change.
Investment firms are also up high in the market, with regulated investment firms like Grayscale, Blackrock, and a handful of others having collectively raked in 933,000 Bitcoins, courtesy of Bitcoin products like ETFs. Similarly, MicroStrategy and Block One, two leading fintech companies have bought 193,000 and 140,000 Bitcoins respectively.
The global population holds around 50% of existing Bitcoin tokens
Leading crypto proponents are also some of the largest Bitcoin holders. The pseudonymous crypto creator Satoshi Nakamoto set aside an estimated 1.1 million Bitcoin for himself. While Namakoto’s Bitcoin holdings have not been touched since 2009, he ranks as the 22nd richest person in the world, as his Bitcoin fortune is valued at $66 billion.
Crypto investors and founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange the Winklevoss twins hold around 70,000 BTC, while venture capitalist Tim Draper has secured about 30,000 BTC over the years. Michael Saylor, the former CEO of MicroStrategy and notable Bitcoin pioneer disclosed back in 2020 that he held around 18000 in Bitcoins.
Tech companies in the crypto payment industry also account for a sizable portion of the existing Bitcoins, with 8,000 in collective ownership. Despite Musk’s mixed signals on Bitcoin, his electrical vehicle company Tesla, boats of 9,700 Bitcoin holdings.
However, this number might have increased since then. Following closely behind is billionaire Peter Theil, whose company spent a whopping $100 million to purchase Bitcoin in 2023. The billionaire has an estimated Bitcoin holdings of 3,600. The global population occupies the highest position with around 10.5 million BTCs shared amongst holders across the globe.
The remaining Bitcoins are split between law enforcement, crypto coin company Tether, and publicly listed miners holding 335,000, 67,000, and 40,000 Bitcoins respectively.
El Salvador is standing alone as the only country to adopt Bitcoin as a national currency, and the only nation with an estimated 2,800 Bitcoin under its possession.
