The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (2024)

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The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (1)

Ever since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin’s odyssey has mesmerized the public and attracted some colorful buyers. Even if you’re not an expert, you might have wondered who owns the world’s top cryptocurrency.

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Those who own at least 1,000 Bitcoin, whether they are individuals or corporations, are referred to as Bitcoin Whales. Most do not disclose how many coins they own, but a select few have come forward.

Here is a list of the individuals (not corporations or entities) who possess the most amount of Bitcoin.

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Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto

The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (2)

The anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, reportedly possesses approximately 1 million Bitcoin, which are stored in multiple wallets. At the current price, the amount would be worth around $60 billion.

Bitcoin has a maximum cap of 21 million, which makes Nakamoto one of the top Bitcoin owners.

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The Winklevoss Twins

The Winklevoss Twins

The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (3)

The Winklevoss twins - Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss - are among the biggest names in the crypto sphere. In 2004, they accused Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their social networking idea, and after four years of litigation, they settled for $65 million from Zuckerberg.

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According to reports, some of the $65 million was used to buy Bitcoin, and the twins were the first prominent figures to publicly disclose that they had invested $11million into the cryptocurrency.

The twins acquired 1% of all Bitcoin in the world with that money, which at the time was worth $10 a piece, and became the first Bitcoin billionaires in 2017.

They are believed to own around 70,000 Bitcoin.

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Michael Saylor

Michael Saylor

The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (4)

Bitcoin-maximalist Michael Saylor is a former dot.com entrepreneur who once lost $6 billion in a day. He then tried his luck in Bitcoin, and his fortune has grown ever since.

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The founder of MicroStrategy, a business analytics software company, has been advocating and buying the top cryptocurrency. Saylor personally owns 17,000 Bitcoin which is worth $1.05 billion. His company MicroStrategy holds 214,400 Bitcoin which is 1% of total Bitcoin, as per the latest data.

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Tim Draper

Tim Draper

The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (5)

Silicon Valley entrepreneur and founding partner of venture capital firm Draper Fisher, Tim Draper purchased Bitcoin for the first time in 2012 and has been involved ever since.

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In 2014, he purchased 29,656 bitcoins from the U.S. Marshals for $18.7 million. The bitcoins were confiscated from the Silk Road black market and were bought at $632 per coin.

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Roger Ver

The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (6)

Early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, also known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ who was recently charged $50 million in tax fraud, is one of the Bitcoin Whales.

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According to the latest indictment, Ver failed to report the 131,000 Bitcoins he owned in 2014 when he renounced his citizenship. Using this method, Ver is alleged to have underrepresented his Bitcoin holdings and evaded taxes.

At the moment, Bitcoin is trading at around $60,000, which means Ver’s 131,000 Bitcoins are worth over $8 billion.

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The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world (2024)

FAQs

The 5 biggest Bitcoin owners in the world? ›

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.

Who owns the most Bitcoin in the world? ›

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.

Is Satoshi Nakamoto the richest person in the world? ›

While many are aware of Musk's status, some still mistakenly believe Amazon's Jeff Bezos holds the top spot, though he has been demoted to the third richest person worldwide. Few realize that Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, ranks as the 23rd wealthiest individual in the world.

Who got rich from Bitcoin? ›

Prominent figures associated with substantial cryptocurrency wealth include individuals such as Changpeng Zhao (founder of Binance), Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (founders of Gemini), and Chris Larsen (co-founder of Ripple). Their fortunes are tied to successful ventures in the crypto space.

How many people own a full Bitcoin? ›

However, some estimates can be made based on blockchain data and surveys of Bitcoin holders. According to data from Bitinfocharts, as of March 2023, there are approximately 827,000 addresses that hold 1 bitcoin or more, representing around 4.5% of all addresses on the Bitcoin network.

Which government owns the most bitcoin? ›

The U.S. government is one of the world's biggest holders of bitcoin, but unlike other crypto whales, it doesn't care if the digital currency goes up or down in value. That is because Uncle Sam's stash of some 200,000 bitcoin was seized from cybercriminals and darknet markets.

Who buys your bitcoin when you sell it? ›

The easiest way to sell your cryptocurrency is on a reputable, regulated exchange like Coinbase, Gemini, or Binance.

Who controls bitcoin? ›

As a decentralized system, bitcoin operates without a central authority or single administrator, so that anyone can create a new bitcoin address and transact without needing any approval. This is accomplished through a specialized distributed ledger called a blockchain that records bitcoin transactions.

How much Bitcoin is left? ›

According to the Bitcoin protocol, the maximum number of bitcoins that can be created is 21 million. As of March 2023, approximately 18.9 million bitcoins have been mined, meaning there are around 2.1 million bitcoins left to be mined.

Why is Bitcoin so expensive? ›

Bitcoin's price changes because of its supply, the market's demand, media and news, and regulatory changes. Some research suggests that the cost of producing a bitcoin also influences its prices, but most reports used assumed data rather than facts.

What family bought bitcoin at $900? ›

In 2017, Taihuttu, his wife, and three daughters liquidated all they owned, trading a 2,500-square-foot house and virtually all their earthly possessions for bitcoin and a life on the road. This was back when the price of bitcoin was around $900. Bitcoin is currently trading around $19,700.

How much bitcoin does Elon Musk own? ›

The co-founder of Tesla Inc. revealed on Twitter that he owns only a tiny fraction of one bitcoin token. "I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from . 25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago," Musk confessed.

Who is the real founder of bitcoin? ›

Bitcoin was created by an anonymous person or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto published a whitepaper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," outlining the concept of a decentralized digital currency. 1 The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown to this day.

Which government owns the most Bitcoin? ›

The U.S. government is one of the world's biggest holders of bitcoin, but unlike other crypto whales, it doesn't care if the digital currency goes up or down in value. That is because Uncle Sam's stash of some 200,000 bitcoin was seized from cybercriminals and darknet markets.

How much Bitcoin to be a millionaire? ›

So, 10 times from those levels would mean that Bitcoin could go as high as $350,000, Saylor said. If this is the case, you would need to own 2.86 BTC to become a millionaire. It would cost around $190,000 today.

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