Who Controls Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a decentralized network that cannot be controlled by any entity or government, but is this true?

Let’s dive into the most influential holders of Bitcoin.

Satoshi Nakamoto

The pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is estimated to own 968,452 BTC.

Notable Individuals

• Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss: Hold around 70,000 BTC.
• Tim Draper: Purchased 40,000 BTC at the Mt. Gox exchange before it was hacked. While those holdings haven’t been recovered, recent developments suggest a repayment may occur soon. In 2014, Draper also acquired 29,656 BTC.
• Michael Saylor: In 2020, the co-founder of MicroStrategy disclosed he held 17,732 BTC.

Whales

Bitcoin “whales” (addresses holding massive amounts of Bitcoin) significantly influence the market:

• Four addresses hold between 100,000 and 1,000,000 BTC, totaling 704,497 BTC.
• The next 93 largest addresses, with holdings between 10,000 and 100,000 BTC, collectively own 2,287,472 BTC. Together, these wealthiest addresses account for about 14% of Bitcoin’s total supply.

Exchanges

Approximately 12% of Bitcoin’s total supply is held by exchanges on behalf of clients:

• Coinbase: 2,256,287 BTC
• Binance: 636,209 BTC
• BlackRock: 357,509 BTC
• Bitfinex: 207,429 BTC
• OKX: 195,182 BTC
• Kraken: 190,998 BTC
• Fidelity: 175,515 BTC
• Robinhood: 144,657 BTC

Companies Holding Bitcoin

Public Companies

• MicroStrategy: Holds 444,262 BTC, roughly 2% of the total supply.
• Robinhood Markets: Controls 136,755 BTC.
• Marathon Digital Holdings: Owns 44,394 BTC.
• Riot Platforms Inc.: Holds 17,429 BTC.
• Hut 8 Mining Corp.: Owns 10,096 BTC.
• Tesla: Holds 9,720 BTC.

Private Companies

• Block.one: A Chinese corporation reportedly owns 164,000 BTC.
• Stone Ridge Holdings Group: An American private company holding approximately 10,889 BTC.
• Tether Holdings LTD: The company behind the USDT stablecoin, owns 82,454 BTC.

Indirect Bitcoin Exposure via ETFs

• BlackRock iBIT: 553,055 BTC
• Grayscale GBTC: 207,521 BTC
• Fidelity FBTC: 204,766 BTC

Governments

Governments worldwide collectively own an estimated 307,000 BTC:

• United States: Holds about 175,000 BTC, primarily seized from Silk Road.
• China: Holds 15,000 BTC, recovered from the PlusToken scam in 2019.
• Kingdom of Bhutan: Owns 12,578 BTC, accumulated mainly through Bitcoin mining.
• El Salvador: Currently holds 5,963 BTC.

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