With nearly 500 million wallet addresses, Bitcoin has become a game-changing and enduring force in the world. Since its quiet inception in 2009, Bitcoin, as the king of cryptocurrencies, has embarked on a long and challenging journey, with hundreds of thousands of transactions taking place every day. But do you know who the biggest Bitcoin holders are?
01
Who are the top Bitcoin holders?
The largest Bitcoin holders are corporate entities, including some institutions and crypto exchanges (CEX). These CEXs store a large amount of users’ crypto assets in cold wallets. Due to the nature of crypto transactions, these addresses are constantly changing.
There are an estimated 106 million Bitcoin holders globally. While there are 460 million addresses used for transactions, 288 million of these addresses do not hold any Bitcoin.
02
How to identify Bitcoin holders?
Due to the flow of funds between wallets, the list of major Bitcoin holders is constantly changing. As of May 15, 2024, according to data from blockchain explorers, the amount of Bitcoin held by the top ten addresses ranges from 69,370 BTC to 248,597 BTC.
The Bitcoin whitepaper suggests creating a new address for each transaction. However, due to the nature of crypto transactions, they are somewhat semi-anonymous: if someone publicly shares their wallet address, all their transactions can easily be traced.
Blockchain analysis also reveals the connection between wallets and real-world identities. Investigators, regulatory agencies, and compliance teams use on-chain tools to detect and prevent criminal activities.
Bitcoin.org has stated, “Bitcoin is designed to allow its users to send and receive payments with an acceptable level of privacy, just like any other form of money. However, Bitcoin is not anonymous and cannot offer the same level of privacy as cash.”
03
Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin wallet
The identity of the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, remains a mystery, but he is believed to hold 1 million Bitcoin. Since Nakamoto mined the genesis block on January 3, 2009, one of his addresses is easily findable: 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa.
This wallet currently holds approximately 99.84 Bitcoin with no outgoing transactions recorded. However, Nakamoto may still have several hundred or even thousands of other independent addresses. These dormant funds add to his mystique.
04
Top Bitcoin holders in 2024 and their wallet addresses
Here are the top ten individual wallets and their owners, determined based on public data and blockchain intelligence:
1) BN (Cold Wallet 1) – 248,597.48 BTC
Unsurprisingly, the largest crypto exchange (CEX) globally manages the largest wallet, holding over 1.2% of all circulating Bitcoin. There have been very few fund outflows, with the most recent one occurring in January 2023, involving 2,000 BTC.
Bitcoin Address: 34xp4vRoCGJym3xR7yCVPFHoCNxv4Twseo
2) Bitfinex – 180,010.07 BTC
Bitfinex is an established CEX founded in 2012. While it has had several major security breaches and an imperfect history, as of May 15, 2024, it ranks 10th in terms of trading volume. The most recent fund outflow transaction occurred in April 2024, involving 4,000 BTC.
Bitcoin Address: b1qgdjqv0av3q56jvd82tkdjpy7gdp9ut8tlqmgrpmv24sq90ecnvqqjwww97
3) Robinhood – 136,295.81 BTC
Robinhood is a US-based zero-commission trading platform that offers stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and options. It attracts newcomers with user-friendly tools and deposit promotions but has also faced criticism for promoting high-risk activities.
According to BitInfoCharts data, there have been no significant fund outflows from this wallet since its establishment in May 2023. As of now, Robinhood has not confirmed ownership of the wallet, but Arkham Intelligence (a blockchain analytics platform) has linked it to the wallet.
Bitcoin Address: bc1ql49ydapnjafl5t2cp9zqpjwe6pdgmxy98859v2
4) FBI (Bitfinex Funds) – 94,643.30 BTC
The funds in this wallet were stolen by a hacker couple from Bitfinex in 2016. US authorities have recovered a portion of the funds (120,000 BTC).
An investigation conducted jointly by the FBI, IRS-CI, and HSI identified the suspects based on gift card purchase records. The wallet is controlled by US federal authorities and was created in February 2022, with only a small amount of funds flowing in after the initial deposit.
Bitcoin Address: bc1qazcm763858nkj2dj986etajv6wquslv8uxwczt
5) BN (Cold Wallet 2) – 82,833.46 BTC
Compared to Cold Wallet 1, this second-largest BN wallet experiences more frequent fund outflows. The most recent one occurred in April 2024, with over 7,910 BTC flowing out.
Bitcoin Address: 3M219KR5vEneNb47ewrPfWyb5jQ2DjxRP6
6) Anonymous Mt. Gox Hacker – 79,957.26 BTC
Around 80,000 BTC was stolen from the Japanese exchange Mt. Gox in 2011. Three years later, the exchange shut down after exposing theft, fraud, and poor fund management, handling over 70% of Bitcoin buy/sell transactions before that.
The wallet’s history shows unauthorized fund inflows from the former CEO of Bitfinex. Since 2011, there have been no fund outflows, only some small deposits.
Bitcoin Address: 1FeexV6bAHb8ybZjqQMjJrcCrHGW9sb6uF
7) Anonymous Holder – 78,317.03 BTC
This address was activated on March 23, 2024, and has not seen any fund outflow transactions. There has been very limited activity since the initial deposit, and the owner remains unknown.
Bitcoin Address: bc1q8yj0herd4r4yxszw3nkfvt53433thk0f5qst4g
8) Tether (Cold Wallet) – 75,354.08 BTC
Arkham Intelligence has confirmed that this leading stablecoin issuer received thousands of BTC from Bitfinex’s hot wallet. The Tether wallet started operating in September 2022 and has only sent out 0.0576 BTC in 50 transactions.
Bitcoin Address: bc1qjasf9z3h7w3jspkhtgatgpyvvzgpa2wwd2lr0eh5tx44reyn2k7sfc27a4
9) BN (Cold Wallet 3) – 75,177.38 BTC
This third-largest BN-related address has been dormant since March 2024, after receiving nearly $5 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Address: 3E97AjYaCq9QYnfFMtBCYiCEsN956Rvpj2
10) FBI (Silk Road Funds) – 69,370.17 BTC
Silk Road was the first modern darknet marketplace, which was shut down in 2013 for drug trading, money laundering, and other illicit activities using Bitcoin. It operated as an underground service on a network that allowed anonymous user operations.
The Bitcoin in this wallet did not directly come from Silk Road. A hacker infiltrated the marketplace between 2012 and 2013 and stole the Bitcoin. In 2020, the hacker returned the Bitcoin to US authorities.
Bitcoin Address: bc1qa5wkgaew2dkv56kfvj49j0av5nml45x9ek9hz6
05
Top institutional Bitcoin holders
1) MicroStrategy Incorporated – 214,400 BTC
This business intelligence provider, led by cryptocurrency advocate Michael Saylor, holds the largest amount of BTC among corporate holders. According to its Q1 2024 financial report, its Bitcoin holdings reached 214,400 after the latest acquisition in April.
Based on current prices, these holdings are worth approximately $13.5 billion, and the company is reported to have made paper profits of around $6 billion from Bitcoin. As a former internet entrepreneur, Saylor once lost $6 billion in a day but later made billions in the Bitcoin rally, driving up the company’s stock price.
2) Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc.
As the second-largest publicly traded corporate holder, this US-based mining company owns over 17,631 Bitcoin, worth over $1.5 billion, including the holdings after selling approximately 600 Bitcoin earlier.
Unlike MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital fell short of its Q1 revenue expectations due to equipment failures, maintenance, and weather-related obstacles, resulting in a 34% decrease in mined Bitcoin. This decline has caused its stock price to fall by 14.01% year-to-date.
The company plans to sell more of its holdings “to support monthly operations, manage treasury reserves, and for general corporate purposes.”
3) Tesla, Inc.
The automotive giant founded by Elon Musk entered the Bitcoin market in February 2021, acquiring $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin for diversification and optimal profit value. Within a year, the company sold 75% of its holdings due to concerns about low liquidity caused by COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
According to Arkham’s estimate, as of April 2024, the electric vehicle manufacturer holds around 11,509 Bitcoin. The Q1 balance sheet shows that net digital assets remained unchanged since Q4 2022, with Bitcoin comprising the majority of the funds.
Despite accepting DOGE as a payment method for merchandise, Tesla holds a relatively small quantity of this memecoin. Its stock performance has recently declined, with a 29.64% year-to-date decrease.
4) Coinbase Global, Inc.
This US-based company is the largest publicly traded crypto exchange (CEX) globally and holds over 9,100 Bitcoin. It plays a significant role in the crypto space, serving retail users and institutions and custodians for hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin.
Similar to MicroStrategy, Coinbase has seen its stock price rise since the beginning of 2024. Despite regulatory crackdowns by the SEC, its stock has increased by 26.44% year-to-date, benefiting from the surge in Bitcoin prices.
5) Hut 8 Corp.
As the only non-US company among the top five publicly traded holders, this Canadian mining company owns approximately 9,100 Bitcoin. According to a Benchmark report, these holdings provide “considerable liquidity and the ability to capture upside during periods of Bitcoin price appreciation.” The value is approximately $592 million, accounting for around 82% of Hut 8’s market capitalization.
Similar to Marathon Digital, the company has faced difficulties financially this year, with its stock price falling by 33.81% year-to-date.
06
Conclusion
Buying Bitcoin and holding it for the long term, waiting for its value to appreciate, is one way to make money. However, the ever-evolving landscape of various assets and financial products also offers indirect opportunities for participation, including Bitcoin ETFs (spot and futures), stocks of entities with significant Bitcoin holdings, and funds that invest in Bitcoin or blockchain-related companies.
It can be seen that with the joint efforts of institutions, CEXs, and service providers, Bitcoin has a complex and diverse user base, and the user profiles provide insights into the current level of participation and adoption of Bitcoin.
The total number of Bitcoin users does not equal the number of addresses. However, the five hundred million daily transactions and the 67 million wallets with at least $1 balance demonstrate the market’s active participation and growing acceptance of Bitcoin.
