Key Takeaways
Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, remains the single largest holder with an estimated 1.1 million BTC, mined during the cryptocurrency’s earliest days.
Bitcoin ETFs, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), collectively hold over 1.1 million BTC, representing a major shift in institutional participation since their U.S. approval in 2024.
Public companies like Strategy and Mara are among the top corporate holders, using bitcoin as a strategic treasury reserve.
Governments around the world are estimated to hold hundreds of thousands of BTC, often acquired through law enforcement seizures, strategic accumulation, or state-backed mining initiatives.
Introduction
Bitcoin has a fixed total supply of 21 million units. As crypto adoption continues to grow worldwide, understanding who owns the most BTC can reveal how it’s distributed and how ownership patterns may affect its long-term stability.
Over time, multiple participants, including early miners, institutional investors, corporations, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and governments, have become among the largest holders of bitcoin.
The Challenge of Tracking Bitcoin Ownership
While every Bitcoin transaction is publicly recorded on the blockchain, identifying who controls each wallet remains relatively difficult. Bitcoin’s pseudonymous structure means that wallet addresses do not reveal real identities, making it challenging to distinguish between individual investors, institutions, and custodial accounts.
Some BTC are believed to be permanently lost due to forgotten passwords or lost private keys, reducing the amount in active circulation. Ownership patterns can also shift over time as wallets move funds, ETFs rebalance their holdings, governments sell seized assets, and companies adjust their treasury allocations.
Because of these factors, any list of major bitcoin holders should be viewed as a temporary snapshot rather than a confirmed record. This article provides an overview of bitcoin ownership as of October 2025, based on available information.
The Largest Individual Holder: Satoshi Nakamoto
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.
Blockchain researchers estimate that Satoshi mined more than 22,000 blocks, earning 50 BTC for each before the first halving. The bitcoins, spread across thousands of wallet addresses, have never been moved or spent, adding to the mystery around Bitcoin’s founder.
The 1.1 million BTC estimate is based on analyses of early mining patterns, most notably the “Patoshi pattern” (mining signature) identified by researcher Sergio Demian Lerner. While this figure is widely accepted, it remains an educated estimate rather than a confirmed fact.
Satoshi’s most famous Bitcoin address is “1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa”, also known as the Bitcoin Genesis Address. This is the address that mined the very first Bitcoin block in 2009 (the Genesis Block). The address holds more than 104 bitcoins.
Individual bitcoin whales
A bitcoin whale is an individual or entity that holds at least 1,000 BTC. Most whales remain anonymous, but some are known to the public. They include early adopters and miners, crypto investors such as Tim Draper and the Winklevoss twins, and institutional funds or custodians that manage large client holdings.
Because Bitcoin wallets are pseudonymous and funds move frequently, the list of whales is always changing. Even so, many large holders play a role in the market by providing stability during downturns and shaping liquidity across exchanges.
Bitcoin ETFs
In the US, Bitcoin ETFs have become some of the largest holders of bitcoin since their approval in early 2024. These funds allow investors to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price movements through traditional financial markets without directly owning or managing BTC. As of late October 2025, the three major ETF holders include:
BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT): Managed by BlackRock, IBIT holds about 804,944 BTC, making it the single largest ETF by inflows since its launch.
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund: Managed by Fidelity, FBTC holds approximately 207,151 BTC and offers investors straightforward access to bitcoin through a regulated fund.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC): One of the first bitcoin investment products, GBTC now operates as a spot bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) and holds about 177,952 BTC.
Publicly Traded Bitcoin Treasury Companies
A growing number of publicly listed companies now hold bitcoin as part of their treasury reserves, viewing it as a store of value or an inflation hedge. Below are some examples of publicly traded companies that hold bitcoin as part of their treasury strategy.
As of October 2025, there are at least 100 public companies with more than 100 BTC. Some of the biggest holders include:
Strategy: Formerly known as MicroStrategy, Strategy, led by executive chairman Michael Saylor, holds approximately 640,808 BTC, making it the largest public company holder of Bitcoin. The firm continues to expand its holdings through a mix of direct market purchases and financing initiatives.
MARA: A bitcoin mining and infrastructure company with holdings of around 53,250 BTC, accumulated through both mining output and acquisitions.
XXI: The company holds about 43,514 BTC, representing one of the largest bitcoin reserves among publicly traded firms.
Metaplanet: A Tokyo-listed firm that holds approximately 30,823 BTC, reflecting growing corporate interest in bitcoin among Asian companies.
Private Companies
In addition to public corporations, several private companies also hold substantial amounts of bitcoin as part of their business operations or investment strategies. Unlike public firms, they are not required to disclose their holdings, so available figures are based on voluntary reports and industry estimates.
Block.one, the firm known for developing the EOSIO open source software, reportedly holds about 164,000 BTC, making it one of the largest known private holders. Tether, issuer of the USDT stablecoin, is said to own around 87,475 BTC, having added bitcoin to its reserves as part of a broader diversification effort.
Stone Ridge Holdings Group, a US-based financial firm, reportedly holds about 10,000 BTC, purchased in 2020 as part of its long-term investment plan. The actual number of private companies with significant bitcoin holdings could be higher, as many do not disclose such information publicly.
Government Entities
Several governments around the world hold Bitcoin through law enforcement seizures, state-backed mining, or direct purchases. The United States is estimated to control around 326,588 BTC, much of it recovered from the Silk Road case (an online marketplace closed for illegal activity) in 2013 and the Bitfinex hack in 2016.
In March 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. Funded by bitcoin seized in legal cases, the initiative aims to manage these assets as a long-term store of value and to review the government’s existing holdings.
China reportedly holds around 190,000 BTC from the PlusToken scam, while the United Kingdom is said to possess roughly 61,245 BTC linked to financial crime investigations. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reportedly holds about 6,420 BTC from state-backed mining initiatives.
El Salvador is the only country known to have purchased bitcoin directly, with reported holdings of about 6,363 BTC. The nation adopted bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 to support financial inclusion and attract investment, later making its use voluntary in 2025.
Crypto Exchanges and Custodial Wallets
Many cryptocurrency exchanges hold significant amounts of bitcoin in custodial wallets, which store assets on behalf of their users. These wallets are often among the largest visible on the blockchain, but they do not represent ownership by the exchanges themselves.
Custodial wallets combine funds from many users to facilitate trading, withdrawals, and other platform activities. As a result, their balances fluctuate frequently as the coins are collectively owned by millions of individual account holders.
Closing Thoughts
Understanding who owns the most Bitcoin offers insight into how the world’s first cryptocurrency has matured over time. While Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to hold the largest individual amount, ownership today is spread across a diverse range of holders, including institutions, ETFs, corporations, governments, and private investors.
Further Reading
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