Who owns the most bitcoin?

Bitcoin (BTC) remains the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. As of November 2025, its price hovers around $104,800, with a market capitalisation of $2.09 trillion. Its dominance continues to shape the digital asset landscape, with other cryptocurrencies still classified simply as 'altcoins'.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

What is BTC?

Launched in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin was designed as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, allowing value to move directly between users without a central authority. New coins enter circulation through mining, which uses a proof-of-work mechanism to validate transactions and secure the network.

Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins, a built-in limit that has defined its reputation as a scarce digital asset. By late 2025, around 19.6 million BTC had been mined – roughly 93% of the total supply. The rate of issuance halves approximately every four years in an event known as a halving, which slows the creation of new coins. The latest halving took place in April 2024, reducing rewards to 3.125 BTC per block.

This gradual reduction in new supply remains central to bitcoin’s long-term design – and a key reason why large holders, often called whales, continue to play an important role in the market.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

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Who owns the most bitcoins?

The single largest known holder of bitcoin is still its pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, estimated to control around 1.1 million BTC distributed across about 22,000 early addresses. These coins have never been moved, making them the largest single holding in existence.

After Nakamoto, the biggest concentrations of bitcoin are typically found in exchange wallets. These are not personal holdings but custodial reserves held on behalf of clients. As of 11 November 2025, Coinbase currently holds around 874,000 BTC, making it the largest known custodian. Binance follows with about 250,000 BTC, and Bitfinex with roughly 178,000 BTC.

Beyond exchanges, several individuals and companies hold significant reserves. The Winklevoss twins own about 70,000 BTC, while venture capitalist Tim Draper holds 29,656 BTC. The business intelligence firm MicroStrategy remains the largest corporate holder, with around 640,000 BTC, reflecting continued accumulation in its bitcoin treasury.

Other notable holders include Block.one (140,000 BTC), Tether (~87,600 BTC), Trump Media & Technology Group (~19,000 BTC), and SpaceX (~7,300 BTC) – a decline from its 2021 peak of around 28,000 BTC.

Sources: Arkham Intelligence, Tempo.co, River.

Institutional and government ownership

Bitcoin ownership has evolved markedly in recent years. Early 'whales' were mainly individuals or miners; today, institutional holders dominate.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now hold substantial volumes of BTC. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust holds about 768,000 BTC, while Fidelity’s Wise Origin Trust manages roughly 394,000 BTC. Analysts estimate that nearly 45% of whale-owned BTC now sits within institutional custody.

Governments also feature among the top holders. The United States retains about 326,000 BTC, largely from asset seizures. Bhutan holds nearly 10,000 BTC from state mining operations, while El Salvador’s holdings have increased to 6,274 BTC through steady state purchases.

This growing institutional and sovereign participation has brought greater transparency to ownership patterns, even as much of the market remains pseudonymous.

Bitcoin miners and treasury holders

Large mining firms continue to retain portions of their mined BTC as part of treasury management.

As of late 2025, Marathon Digital controls between 26,000 and 52,800 BTC, while XXI Mining holds around 43,514 BTC. Other significant miners include Riot Platforms (19,000 BTC), Metaplanet (17,100 BTC), CleanSpark (13,000 BTC) and Hut 8 (10,278 BTC).

Collectively, these miners act as stabilising participants, often functioning like quasi-institutional holders due to their public disclosures and operational scale.

Market distribution and whale dynamics

Bitcoin remains decentralised by design, but ownership patterns have shifted.

By November 2025, there were around 2,120 addresses holding 1,000 BTC or more, the typical definition of a 'whale'. Although the number of whale addresses has grown modestly, many early private holders have redistributed their coins to ETFs, funds, and exchanges. This has led to a more transparent yet concentrated structure, where fewer entities hold larger sums on behalf of multiple investors.

Bitcoin remains less concentrated than many other major cryptocurrencies. Large holders control roughly 11–13% of circulating supply, compared with about 40% for Ethereum (ETH), 85% for Polygon’s MATIC, and 65% for Dogecoin (DOGE).

While institutionalisation has reduced retail-driven volatility, it also means that ETF flows and treasury management can increasingly influence market behaviour.

Why ownership matters

Understanding bitcoin’s ownership structure helps explain liquidity, volatility, and market sentiment. Large holders can influence short-term price movements, particularly when major inflows or outflows occur from exchanges or ETFs.

From a policy perspective, concentration data highlights who stands to benefit most during price fluctuations. Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research notes that bitcoin remains 'dominated by large and concentrated players', such as miners, corporations and exchanges.

This concentration may present systemic risks if major wallets act simultaneously, but on-chain transparency enables ongoing monitoring of these movements.

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