Bitcoin’s Largest Holders: Satoshi, Exchanges, Nations Revealed

At the apex of Bitcoin ownership sits its enigmatic creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who controls an estimated 1.1 million BTC, representing roughly 5.5% of the total supply. Valued at around $75 billion at current market prices, this stake dwarfs the holdings of even the largest corporate and institutional entities. The most remarkable aspect of this fortune is its complete dormancy; the coins from these early-mined addresses have remained untouched since Bitcoin’s inception, creating a permanent and significant constraint on the circulating supply. This inactive hoard represents both a foundational mystery and a fundamental market factor, as any potential future movement would have seismic implications for the cryptocurrency’s valuation.

Following Nakamoto, the largest on-chain holders are the major cryptocurrency exchanges that act as custodians for millions of users. U.S.-based Coinbase leads this category, holding 993,069 BTC, equivalent to 5% of the total supply. These funds represent a combination of client deposits and corporate reserves maintained to satisfy withdrawal requests. Its global rival, Binance, controls 661,000 BTC in custody, accounting for 3.15% of the supply. The rise of institutional investment is most clearly embodied by BlackRock, which, according to Arkham Intelligence data, holds 761,801 BTC worth approximately $52 billion, making it the largest institutional holder.

Other major asset managers, including Fidelity and Grayscale, maintain significant positions, though custody arrangements can obscure direct attribution. For instance, Fidelity Custody appears to hold 448,000 BTC, but some of Strategy’s corporate holdings—which total 715,000 BTC—are reflected on-chain under Fidelity due to their custodial method, suggesting a combined holding exceeding 1.16 million BTC across related entities. Publicly traded companies like mining firm MARA and Japan’s Metaplanet have also acquired meaningful stakes, while private entities such as stablecoin issuer Tether (96,369 BTC) and SpaceX (8,300 BTC as of August 2025) round out the list of significant corporate holders.

National governments have emerged as formidable Bitcoin holders, primarily through law enforcement seizures related to criminal investigations. The United States government leads this category with 328,000 BTC, accumulated from asset forfeitures in major cases including the Bitfinex hack, the Silk Road marketplace, its hacker James Zhong, and, more recently, 127,000 BTC from the LuBian Hacker address. China’s authorities confiscated 194,775 BTC from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme in 2020, though it remains unclear if the government retains or has sold these coins.

The United Kingdom holds 61,245 BTC, largely seized by the UK Metropolitan Police from individuals Jian Wen and Zhimin Qian in 2018. Ukraine presents a unique case of state-level Bitcoin involvement; since the onset of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the country received $22.8 million in BTC donations, and over 700,000 Ukrainian public officials have declared ownership, with some holding up to 18,000 BTC, totaling 46,351 BTC. Germany’s involvement was more transient, having seized 50,000 BTC from the Movie2k piracy website in January 2024 but fully divesting the holding by July 2024.