Who owns the most Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is not a company and has no owner. It is open-source software run by a global network of nodes and miners. Nevertheless, it’s fairly possible to estimate who holds how much bitcoin. Satoshi, private individuals, companies, governments, and funds. This article provides an overview, including the key figures from current holdings estimates (as of September 2025).

The largest holdings

• Individuals: approx. 13.83 million BTC (≈ 65.9% of the circulating supply)
• Companies: approx. 1.30 million BTC (≈ 6.2%)
• Funds & ETFs: approx. 1.63 million BTC (≈ 7.8%)
• Governments: approx. 0.307 million BTC (≈ 1.5%)
• Satoshi: approx. 0.968 million BTC (≈ 4.6%), untouched since the early years
• Other: approx. 0.300 million BTC (≈ 1.4%)
• Lost coins: approx. 1.58 million BTC (≈ 7.6%)
• Yet to be mined: approx. 1.09 million BTC (≈ 5.2%) Satoshi Nakamoto is considered the largest individual holder with around 968,452 BTC. The coins are spread across about 20,000 addresses and have remained untouched since 2010.

The largest companies and institutions

Estimates of the largest individual holders (some are custodians for clients). Important: many of them hold bitcoin on behalf of their customers and therefore act more as custodians than actual owners. In addition, many figures are based on self-reported data without independent on-chain verification (no fully audited proof of reserves). Example: Strategy has not yet provided an externally audited proof of all holdings.

1. Coinbase – approx. 2,920,000 BTC (custody for clients)
2. Satoshi – 968,452 BTC (own holdings)
3. BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust – approx. 737,000 BTC (ETF holdings)
4. Binance – approx. 630,000 BTC (custody for clients)
5. Strategy (MicroStrategy) – approx. 600,000 BTC (own holdings)
6. Grayscale – approx. 181,000 BTC (trust holdings)
7. US government – approx. 213,000 BTC (state holdings, mostly seized)
8. Bitfinex – approx. 130,000 BTC (custody for clients)
9. OKX – approx. 124,000 BTC (custody for clients)
10. Kraken – approx. 150,000 BTC (custody for clients)
11. China – approx. 190,000 BTC (state holdings)
12. Fidelity – approx. 200,000 BTC (ETF/fund holdings)
13. Robinhood – approx. 140,000 BTC (custody for clients)
14. Upbit – approx. 175,000 BTC (custody for clients)
15. Tether – approx. 100,000 BTC (corporate holdings)
16. Gemini – approx. 72,000 BTC (custody for clients)

Distribution across addresses

The blockchain shows how much BTC addresses (not people) hold:

• 4 addresses with 100,000–1,000,000 BTC hold a total of approx. 663,000 BTC.
• 93 addresses with 10,000–100,000 BTC hold a total of approx. 2,290,000 BTC. These “whale addresses” together account for about 14% of the total supply. Exchanges custody at least ~12% of coins for customers. At the other end are hundreds of millions of addresses with tiny balances and a significant share of lost coins.

Companies and funds: who is already buying Bitcoin regularly today?

• Strategy (MicroStrategy) follows a BTC treasury strategy and holds (September 2025) around 600,000 BTC.
• BlackRock (iShares Bitcoin Trust) manages approx. 737,000 BTC in an ETF vehicle.
• Robinhood holds 140,000 BTC (for customers).
• Marathon Digital holds ~50,000 BTC.
• Tesla holds 11,500 BTC.
• Funds/ETFs in total: around 1.63 million BTC (≈ 7.8% of the total supply).

States that hold Bitcoin

Estimates suggest governments together hold about 307,000 BTC (≈ 1.5% of the total supply).

• USA: approx. 213,000 BTC (mostly seized)
• China: ~190,000 BTC
• Bhutan: ~12,000 BTC (including from mining)
• El Salvador: ~6,000 BTC

How much bitcoin exists (effectively)?

The hard cap remains 21 million BTC. In practice, however, ~1.57 million BTC are lost, and ~968,000 BTC (Satoshi) are considered permanently inactive. So the effective circulating amount is well below 21 million and around 1.20 million BTC will still be mined over the coming years. Dilution via issuance beyond 21 million is ruled out.

What ownership does not mean

Large holdings do not confer power over the protocol. Rules are enforced by full nodes. Even miners must adhere to them: blocks that break the rules are discarded. The rules of the network are enforced by the participants. Holding BTC does not grant any special rights at the protocol level. Ownership is purely private: whoever controls the private key controls the coins.

Final Thoughts

• Bitcoin ownership is widely distributed from individuals to funds and states. A large share is held in custody for clients.
• The 21-million cap permanently limits supply. Lost coins and inactive holdings further increase scarcity.
• Large holders do not influence the network rules.