As Bitcoin has become more mainstream, more and more institutions are beginning to hedge their bets with the cryptocurrency. Over the last four years, institutions have grown their holdings exponentially, and the result of this is that these large institutions have become the more dominant holders of Bitcoin. So much so that at this time, the top Bitcoin wallets no longer include any private holders besides Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto pundit Marty Party shared an interesting development when it comes to the Bitcoin holder base. In a screenshot shared on the social media platform, Marty revealed that governments and institutions now dominate the top holder list for the cryptocurrency.
The only ‘private entity’ that remains on the list is Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto, whose original 1.1 million BTC holding remains unmoved. The following 10 wallets belong to various governments and companies, telling a story of complete eliminate of private holders in the pioneer cryptocurrency.
In the second spot is the Binance crypto exchange, the largest exchange in the world. It currently holds 550,133 BTC. Binance is followed by newcomer BlackRock, whose IBIT Spot Bitcoin ETF went live back in January 2024. In less than one year, BlackRock has manage to amass a staggering 347,767 BTC.
Fourth place on the list belongs to Grayscale, which is notable for introducing the first Bitcoin Trust in the United States. Grayscale has suffered outflows over the course of 2024 as investors moved to other Spot Bitcoin ETF issuers. As a result, its BTC holdings has dropped from over 600,000 to 263,801.
Next on the list is MicroStrategy as the fifth-largest Bitcoin holder in the world, with 226,500. Interestingly, MicroStrategy has said it has no plans to sell its Bitcoin anytime soon and has revealed plans to raise another $2 billion to buy BTC.
The Bitfinex Exchange cliche the sixth spot on the list with 221,315 BTC, followed closely by the US government with a notable 213,246 BTC. Next is the Chinese Government in eight position with 190,000 BTC. The interesting thing about the governments on the list is that the BTC was not bought but rather obtained from seizures from individuals.
After the Chinese government is Fidelity with its FBTC Spot Bitcoin ETF fund. The billion-dollar asset manager currently holds 176,626 BTC, earning it ninth position on the list. While Block One made it into the top 10 with 164,000 BTC.
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