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The 10 Richest Crypto Holders: Arkham Intelligence

Key Takeaways

  • Satoshi Nakamoto remains the wealthiest on-chain crypto holder by far, with over $115 billion in Bitcoin across approximately 22,000 addresses.

  • Several of the richest individuals are permanently locked out of their fortunes after losing private keys, including Rain Lohmus, James Howells, and Stefan Thomas.

  • Justin Sun is currently the richest accessible on-chain holder, with roughly $1.9 billion across various tokens.

  • This ranking is based primarily on on-chain wallet clustering data from Arkham Intelligence, supplemented by other blockchain analytics sources.

  • These stories highlight both the massive rewards of early adoption and the extreme risks of self-custody in cryptocurrency.


1. Satoshi Nakamoto ~$115 Billion

The mysterious creator of Bitcoin is believed to control around 1.096 million BTC spread across roughly 22,000 addresses. These coins were mostly mined in 2009-2010 and have remained almost entirely untouched since. Any significant movement from these wallets would send shockwaves through the entire crypto market.


Satoshi Nakamoto

2. Justin Sun ~$1.9 Billion

Founder of TRON, CEO of BitTorrent, and a major crypto exchange owner. His known on-chain portfolio includes:

  • 155,218 STETH (~$551 million)

  • 1.793 billion TRX (~$537.6 million)

  • 4,247 BTC (~$445.7 million)

  • Significant holdings in WLFI, AETHUSDT, BTT, and others


Justin sun

Sun made headlines when his WLFI wallet was blacklisted by the project after he moved $9 million worth of tokens to exchanges.


3. Rain Lohmus ~$886 Million (Inaccessible)

Estonian banker and co-founder of LHV Bank. An early Ethereum investor, he bought approximately 250,000 ETH during the 2014 ICO. Tragically, he lost the private keys years ago. The coins are still visible on-chain but completely inaccessible to him. At current prices, his lost stake is worth around $854-886 million.


Rain Lohmus

4. Vitalik Buterin ~$867 Million

Ethereum’s co-founder received a large ETH allocation at genesis. Most of his on-chain wealth remains in ETH, though he has also received billions of dollars worth of unsolicited meme tokens (such as SHIB) over the years that he has publicly burned or donated.


Vitalik Buterin

5. James Howells ~$838 Million (Inaccessible)

A British IT worker who mined roughly 8,000 BTC in 2010. In 2013, he accidentally threw away the hard drive containing his private keys. The drive now lies buried in a Welsh landfill. Despite repeated attempts and offers to fund massive excavation efforts, the fortune remains lost forever, though fully visible on-chain.


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6. Stefan Thomas ~$734 Million (Inaccessible)

German-born programmer who was paid 7,002 BTC in 2011 for creating an early Bitcoin explainer video. He stored the keys on an IronKey hardware wallet and forgot the password. The device allows only 10 attempts; he has already used 8, leaving just two remaining guesses before the contents are encrypted forever.


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7. Clifton Collins ~$629 Million (Inaccessible)

Irish cannabis dealer who bought 6,000 BTC around 2011-2012. He hid his private keys printed on paper inside a fishing rod case. After his arrest, the fishing rod was confiscated and later lost, rendering the Bitcoin permanently inaccessible.



8. Owen Gunden ~$561 Million

Early Bitcoin arbitrage trader on Mt. Gox and TradeHill, later a LedgerX board member. Unlike many on this list, Gunden still has access to his keys. He recently moved around 1,800 BTC (~$200 million) to a Kraken deposit address, sparking speculation of an impending large sale.


9. Shixing Mao (DiscusFish) ~$275 Million

Co-founder and CEO of crypto custody provider Cobo and founder of F2Pool, China’s first major Bitcoin mining pool. His primary on-chain holding is approximately 2,616 BTC (~$274.5 million) plus smaller positions in ETH and other tokens.


10. Patricio Worthalter ~$226 Million

Argentinian entrepreneur and founder of POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol), the popular NFT badge protocol for events. His holdings include:

  • ~41,950 ETH (~$148.8 million)

  • ~19,998 WETH (~$70.9 million)

  • Smaller positions in RPL, USDC, and USDT


ETFs are Now Bigger Than Satoshi

In a historic shift, US Bitcoin ETFs now collectively hold 1.1 million BTC surpassing Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated holdings for the first time.


BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust leads with 805,110 BTC under management, making it the single largest non-Satoshi Bitcoin holder. Total ETF holdings represent roughly 6% of Bitcoin's total supply, with assets exceeding $100 billion.



Brian Hartigan, Invesco's global head of ETFs, told CNBC: "Bitcoin ETFs have become the vehicle of choice. It's liquid, regulated, and gives the institutional marketplace more access."


The milestone matters because it signals Bitcoin's transition from digital rebel to mainstream asset. Regulated financial products now control more BTC than the mysterious founder who created it.


MicroStrategy's Insane Accumulation

MicroStrategy (recently rebranded to "Strategy") has become the most aggressive corporate Bitcoin buyer in history. CEO Michael Saylor's company holds 641,692 BTC worth $68.3 billion, accumulated through purchases every few weeks since August 2020.



Strategy owns roughly 3% of Bitcoin's total supply. The company issues debt and sells stock to fund Bitcoin purchases, essentially transforming itself into a leveraged Bitcoin investment vehicle.


Saylor has long predicted Bitcoin will reach $250,000 per coin. If he's right, Strategy's holdings would be worth over $160 billion more than double their current value.


The Crypto Concentration Problem

Bitcoin ownership is heavily concentrated. The top 100 addresses control approximately 2.9 million BTC, around 14-15% of circulating supply. Whale wallets holding 1,000+ BTC collectively own 36% of all Bitcoin.


This concentration creates market volatility. When whales move large amounts, traders often interpret it as a sell-off signal, triggering panic. Tesla's $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase in 2021 fueled a price surge. When Elon Musk reversed course on accepting BTC for cars, the market tanked.



Exchanges dominate the largest addresses. Binance's primary cold wallet holds 248,600 BTC (1.25% of supply), while Coinbase controls 874,000 BTC on behalf of itself and customers.


The Richest Crypto Government Hoarders

Governments now hold an estimated 305,000 BTC, representing 1.5% of total supply. The United States leads with 207,189 BTC seized from criminal operations like the Silk Road and Bitfinex hack.


China reportedly holds 15,000 BTC recovered from the Plustoken scam. El Salvador owns 6,274 BTC accumulated through strategic purchases. The Kingdom of Bhutan holds 9,969 BTC, primarily from Bitcoin mining operations.


These sovereign holdings legitimize Bitcoin as a reserve asset, but also raise questions about centralization and government control over a supposedly decentralized currency.



Do you think Satoshi's coins will ever move? Should governments be allowed to hold seized Bitcoin? Drop your thoughts below and follow for daily crypto insights!




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