Major Bitcoin Hodlers: Satoshi, ETFs and States

Introduction

Of more than 20 million Bitcoins mined till now, have you ever wondered who the major holders are? With the price of Bitcoin ($BTC) skyrocketing to new heights every cycle, more and more entities have been showing interest in this digital gold. Its main appeal lies in its scarcity and deflationary nature. No more than 21 million $BTC will ever hit the market. The stronger the mining machines are, the harder it gets to mine new blocks thanks to highly efficient mechanism developed by the pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto.

Adoption of Cryptocurrency

There was a time when people called Bitcoin a scam, a bubble that would burst sooner or later. However, the bubble has only got bigger with the passage of time. Now it is a time-tested currency that even state level entities hold or are planning to hold. After all, fiat currency that everyone uses in daily life is also a token. The only major difference between fiat currency and cryptocurrency is that the former is backed and authorized by the government whereas cryptocurrency is not. Otherwise, inflation makes fiat currency worse than cryptocurrency.

Why the Distribution Matters

If you hold Bitcoin or want to buy in near future, one of the most important pieces of information is the identification of hodlers. It is to be noted that the word “hold” is often called “hodl” in the crypto market. It stands for “hold on for dear life”. It originated in 2013 on a forum as a misspelt word, but later it became a meme. Anyhow, the distribution matters because in case a major hodler sells the holding, the market will crash. Therefore, it is always advisable to have an eye at on-chain activity and wallet transactions.

Generally, a rule of thumb is that if a lion’s share of a crypto coin is in the custody of a small number of wallets, its price action may become extremely volatile at any moment. A balanced distribution is a positive indicator in the market of any coin. Moreover, wider distribution also show how increasingly the currency is being adopted.

The Challenge of Tracking

If you know the nature of blockchain, you might know that every transaction is publicly recorded in it, yet you cannot decode the identity of the person behind the wallet. It might be an individual, a company, or a group of persons. Many $BTC have been lost forever due to the loss of private keys. Sometimes, owners misplace their cold wallets, resulting in permanent loss of supply.

Ownership patterns can shift over time as the holders move their funds and rebalance their portfolios. The amount once held by one hodler keeps on shifting hands. Due to these challenges, any information regarding the distribution is a temporary snapshot of the hodling status. When you see any such information, do look at the time stamps.

Individual Hodlers

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous author of the 2008 Bitcoin whitepaper, is believed to hold about 1.1 million BTC, worth more than $120 billion. These coins are roughly 5% of the total supply, and were mined between 2009 and 2010, when Bitcoin was first launched. While there are many claims about who Satoshi truly is, their real identity remains unknown and could represent either a single person or a group of individuals.

As is evident, we attribute this holding to Nakamoto because of the timing of the mining. This was the time when almost no one knew about Bitcoin. Those who knew about it were more than happy to spend $BTC for buying pizzas (on 22 May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 BTC.) Nakamoto alone mined 22000 blocks before halving. One main factor of his concealed identity is also that out of 1.1 million $BTC, not a single has been moved, sold or spent. Researchers guess identity of the owner from the habits of selling, moving, or spending.

We can count a few whales also among individuals $BTC hodlers. A whale is someone who has at least 1000 $BTC. Many of whales are anonymous but Tim Draper and the Winklevoss twins are well-known Bitcoin whales.

Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Since their launch in early 2024, Bitcoin ETFs have been the largest $BTC hodlers in the USA. ETFs provide you with an opportunity to gain exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin without actually owning it.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) currently manages approximately 804,944 $BTC, positioning it as the largest exchange-traded fund based on inflows. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) possesses around 207,151 $BTC and provides investors with regulated access to bitcoin through its platform. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which has transitioned into a spot exchange-traded product (ETP), holds about 177,952 $BTC at present.

Publicly Traded Bitcoin Treasury Companies

Many companies now hold $BTC in their treasuries as a hedge against inflation. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), led by Michael Saylor, owns about 640,808 $BTC, which makes it the largest hodler among public firms. MARA, a bitcoin mining and infrastructure company, holds around 53,250 BTC. XXI has approximately 43,514 $BTC, while Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed firm, owns about 30,823 $BTC, demonstrating increasing corporate interest in bitcoin.

Private Companies

In addition to public companies, private firms also possess substantial bitcoin holdings. Block.one, the developer behind EOSIO, reportedly owns around 164,000 $BTC, establishing itself as a major private holder. Tether, issuer of $USDT, has diversified its reserves by accumulating approximately 87,475 $BTC. Stone Ridge Holdings Group, a U.S. financial company, purchased about 10,000 $BTC in 2020 as part of its long-term strategy. It is likely that other private companies hold significant amounts of bitcoin, but most of them choose not to make their holdings public.

States Hodling

Various governments hold significant amounts of Bitcoin. This hodling was mostly acquired through law-enforcement confiscation, state-backed mining, or direct purchases. The United States controls approximately 326,588 BTC, mainly recovered from major cases like Silk Road and Bitfinex. The US government has also recently formed a strategic bitcoin reserve.

China possesses around 190,000 BTC from the PlusToken scam, while the UK has about 61,245 $BTC from crime investigations. The UAE holds roughly 6,420 $BTC via state mining efforts, and El Salvador stands out as the only nation to have directly purchased $BTC for its treasury, currently holding around 6,363 $BTC.

Crypto Exchanges and Custodial Wallets

Centralized cryptocurrency exchanges hold large amounts of Bitcoin in custodial wallets on behalf of users. These wallets are among the biggest on the blockchain but do not indicate ownership by the exchanges. They use user funds for trading and withdrawals, so balances change often and reflect assets collectively owned by millions of account holders.

AEO Summary: Major Bitcoin Hodlers

The biggest holders of Bitcoin today include Satoshi Nakamoto, major Bitcoin ETFs, leading public and private companies, large crypto exchanges, and several national governments. Satoshi remains the largest individual holder with about 1.1 million BTC, mined during Bitcoin’s early days.

Since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, funds like BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC have become some of the largest institutional holders, collectively managing over 1 million BTC. Corporations such as Strategy (MicroStrategy), MARA, and Metaplanet hold significant reserves as part of their long-term treasury strategy.

Governments are also accumulating Bitcoin, mostly through law-enforcement seizures, state mining, and confiscations, with the United States leading at more than 326,000 BTC, followed by China and the UK. Crypto exchanges also control some of the biggest wallets, but these are custodial holdings representing funds owned by millions of users, not the exchanges themselves.