Urban Dictionary defines “whale” as “whale in the context of sales”. hope It is much larger than the average customer of an organization”.
in cryptocurrencyThe meaning of a “whale” has come to mean a large holder of a particular coin.
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while Bitcoin Often marketed as the most decentralized form of money, there also exist some investors who hold large amounts. In this piece, we look at some of the data surrounding individual investors, governments and institutions that control significant amounts of bitcoin.
Top Bitcoin Whale Stats – Editor’s Picks
- Satoshi Nakamoto Was The 14th Richest Person In The World At Bitcoin’s All-Time High
- Top 10,000 individual investors control a third of the bitcoin supply
- Every Norwegian Citizen Has About $3.80 in Bitcoin Through the Norwegian Government Pension Fund
- The US government is believed to hold 214,000 bitcoins, which is over 1% of the total supply.
- Less than 2% of addresses have more than one bitcoin
- The Chinese government holds 194,000 bitcoins, which is equivalent to 0.92% of the total supply.
25 bitcoin whale statistics
1. Satoshi Nakamoto owns 5.2% of the total bitcoin supply
Perhaps the biggest whale among them, Satoshi Nakamoto is the creator of bitcoin and in many ways the cryptocurrency industry. In the early days following its launch in 2009 and 2010, Nakamoto was one of very few users of the network, which allowed him to mine an estimated 1.1 million bitcoins, equivalent to 5.2% of the total supply.
2. Satoshi Nakamoto Was The 14th Richest Person In The World At Bitcoin’s All-Time High
Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $68,789 in November 2021. This increased the wealth of Satoshi Nakamoto to 75.7 billion. Looking at the Forbes rich list, this would rank Nakamoto as the 14th richest person in the world. Of course, not only is 1.1 million bitcoins an estimate, but we also don’t know if Nakamoto is a person (source: forbes,
3. Satoshi Nakamoto will become the richest person in the world if bitcoin reaches $165,000
At the time of writing this article, the richest person in the world is French business magnate Bernard Arnault, who recently overtook Elon Musk. According to Forbes, his wealth is $181.8 billion. If the price of bitcoin were to rise to $165,000, Satoshi Nakamoto would overtake him.
4. The top 10,000 individual investors control nearly a third of the bitcoin supply
Bitcoin is known for its decentralization, but there is a collection of investors who hold a large portion of the supply. The top 10,000 own more than a third of all bitcoin (source: NBER,
5. About fifty miners control half of bitcoin’s mining capacity
Critics often point to the heavy concentration of miners as having security implications for the network. The 0.1% miners, which is roughly fifty miners, control half the mining capacity of the entire bitcoin network. Theoretically, these miners could collude to launch a 51% attack on the network – although in reality, economic incentives mean this is unlikely (source: NBER,
6. The Top 10% of Bitcoin Miners Control 90% of the Mining Capacity
Based on the above figures, the top 10% of miners control an astonishing 90% of the mining capacity on the network.
- Top 5 mining pools control 95% of bitcoin mining capacity
7. Top 5 Mining Pools Control 95% of Bitcoin’s Mining Capacity
Miners are paid in bitcoin if they win the right to validate a block. Due to the variance of revenue this causes, many miners prefer to join pools and split the rewards proportionally. I put together the graph below to show the growth in power of these large mining pools (source, intoblock,
8. MicroStrategy owns 0.68% of the bitcoin supply
MicroStrategy, a software company co-founded by bitcoin lover Michael Saylor, holds 130,000 bitcoins – good for 0.68% of the total circulating supply. ,source: Michael Saylor,
9. MicroStrategy has an average buy price of $30,369 on its bitcoin
Michael Saylor continues to buy bitcoin. The most recent purchase at the time of writing this article was 301 bitcoins at an average price of $19,851. (source: Michael Saylor).
10. MicroStrategy Is Down About $1.81 Billion On Their Bitcoin Purchases
MicroStrategy’s 130,000 bitcoins are worth $3.98 billion at an average price of $30,369. As of today’s prices, bitcoin is worth $2.17 billion, which means a loss of $1.81 billion.
11. Block (formerly Square) holds 8,027 bitcoins, 0.04% of the total circulating supply
Block, the technology conglomerate founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, owns 8,027 bitcoins. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with 8,027 bitcoins worth $134 million at the time of writing. ,source: buybitcoinworldwide.com,
12. Every citizen of Norway owns $3.80 in bitcoin
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund invests oil profits on behalf of the country’s 5.4 million citizens. Through its 0.92% stake in MicroStrategy and its 0.44% stake in Block, the fund indirectly owns 1,231 bitcoin. This means that every citizen of Norway technically owns $3.80 bitcoin (0.00022762573 bitcoin). ,source: NBIM.No,
13. Tesla owns 10,725 bitcoins
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company owns 10,725 bitcoins. This is after selling 75% of its stake over concerns about the environmental impact of mining. (source: Tesla Earnings Report,
14. Luna Foundation Guard spent 80,000 bitcoin on May 16, 2022 – the largest bitcoin spend by a single entity or individual in a single day.
Luna Foundation Guard, established to protect the peg of Ust Stablecoin, which was paired with other top 10 coins luna80,000 bitcoins spent in an unfortunate last-ditch effort to save the peg Terra ecosystem collapsed,
15. The US government is believed to have 214,000 bitcoins, more than 1% of the total supply
The latest bitcoin seizure happened last month, when the US government seized 50,000 bitcoins in connection with the illegal marketplace Silk Road. Not much is known about the government’s stash, but it is believed that bitcoins are sold intermittently at public auctions. ,source, crypto news,
16. 110 addresses hold over 10,000 bitcoins
These 10,000 bitcoins represent 12% of the total supply. ,source: bitinfocharts.com,
17. Less than 2% of addresses have one bitcoin or more
A bitcoin is a major handicap for most these days, despite it being a little more money than it was a decade ago. Today, less than 2% of addresses have reached this mark. ,source: bitinfocharts.com,
18. Over 24,000 Bitcoin Addresses Have Over a Million Dollars
In terms of bitcoin millionaires, there are over 24,000 addresses that hold at least one million dollars worth of bitcoin. Of course, individuals may have more than one address (and some addresses may be split between several, e.g. transactions addresses). ,source: bitinfocharts.com,
19. The world’s largest wallet holding 250,000 bitcoins, worth over $4 billion, belongs to Binance
it The wallet holds 1.3% of the total supply, which is worth over $4 billion. It is a cold wallet belonging to the exchange Binance.
20. Galaxy Digital owns 40,000 bitcoins, the second largest stash of bitcoins by any public company
Galaxy Digital, a financial services company focused on digital assets, is second only to Microstrategy. ,source: buybitcoinworldwide.com,
21. Coinbase holds 9,000 bitcoins
Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange that went public during the pandemic, has 9,000 bitcoins on its balance sheet, the eighth-largest holding among public companies. ,source: buybitcoinworldwide.com,
22. Chinese company Block.one holds 140,000 bitcoins, the largest holding of any company in the world
While MicroStrategy has the most ownership of any public company, Block.one is a private company in China that developed cryptocurrencies. eos, owns 140,000 bitcoins (compared to MicroStrategy’s 130,000), making them the company with the most bitcoins (known at least). ,source: bybit,
23. El Salvador holds 2,381 bitcoins, which is 0.01% of the total supply
The El Salvadoran government currently holds 2,381 bitcoins purchased at an average price of $43,357. This means that the Salvadoran taxpayer has lost more than $63 million. (If you’re interested, I went there this summer.) read about my experience, ,source: buybitcoinworldwide.com,
24. The Chinese government holds 194,000 bitcoins, which is equivalent to 0.92% of the total supply.
The Chinese government is said to have 194,000 bitcoins in its possession following a 2020 seizure related to the PlusToken scam. ,source: coindesk,
25. Finland sold 1,889 bitcoins this year and donated the proceeds to Ukraine
The Finnish government sold 1,889 bitcoins this year for $47.4 million at an average price of $25,000 per coin. The stash was made through narcotic seizures and donated to the humanitarian effort in Ukraine. (source: arabnews.com,
closing thoughts
Bitcoin may be the closest thing to a decentralized asset, but it’s important to note that a lot of coins are locked by top wallets.
Some of the biggest holders above – the Chinese government, Satoshi Nakamoto, Microstrategy, Block.one – hold enough bitcoins to create significant market impact no matter when they sell all at once. Mining consolidation elsewhere is also worth keeping an eye on.
These factors introduce a layer of risk to bitcoin, as liquidity is not sufficient to absorb selling pressure of this scale without a massive drop in price if anything were to happen to these parties.
Yet despite this, Satoshi Nakamoto’s bitcoin whitepaper, published in 2008, remains an incredible technological breakthrough, and the progenitor of the concept of decentralization in the monetary sphere. It is important to see that like everything in life, bitcoin is not Excellent.
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