Identity of the 5 individuals who own the most Bitcoin in the world

Crypto whale is a term that refers to individuals/organizations holding a large amount of certain tokens, with trading sizes that can reach millions/billions of USD. People who own at least 1,000 Bitcoins, whether they are individuals or corporations, are known as Bitcoin Whales.

Since its inception in 2009, the Bitcoin adventure has attracted a large number of buyers. Below is a list of the five individuals (not corporations or organizations) who own the most Bitcoin in the world as of early 2024.

SATOSHI NAKAMOTO

The anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is said to own around 1 million Bitcoin, stored in multiple wallets. At current prices, this would be worth about $60 billion.

Bitcoin has a maximum limit of 21 million units, which makes Nakamoto one of the top Bitcoin holders.

WINKLEVOSS - TYLER AND CAMERON WINKLEVOSS

The Winklevoss twins – Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss – are some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency. They are the founders of crypto exchange Gamini and angel investment firm Winklevoss Capital. In 2004, they accused Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their social network idea and after 4 years of litigation, they received $65 million from Zuckerberg.

According to the report, part of the $65 million was used to buy Bitcoin, and the twins are the first prominent figures to publicly reveal that they invested $11 million in the cryptocurrency.

The twins bought 1% of all Bitcoin in the world with that coin, which at the time was worth $10 each, and became the first Bitcoin billionaires in 2017. They are said to own around 70,000 Bitcoins. .

MICHAEL SAYLOR

Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor is a former dot.com businessman who once lost $6 billion in one day. He then tried his luck with Bitcoin and his fortune has grown since then.

The founder of MicroStrategy, a business analytics software company, has backed and purchased the leading cryptocurrency. Saylor personally owns 17,000 Bitcoin worth $1.05 billion.

According to the latest data, his company MicroStrategy holds 214,400 Bitcoins, accounting for 1% of all Bitcoins worldwide.

TIM DRAPER

Silicon Valley entrepreneur and founding partner of venture capital firm Draper Fisher, Tim Draper first bought Bitcoin in 2012 and has been in the market ever since. He is an American venture capitalist who has invested in companies that later became giants such as Tesla, Skype and Coinbase since the 1980s.

In 2014, he bought 29,656 bitcoins for $18.7 million. These bitcoins were confiscated from Silk Road and purchased for $632 per coin.

ROGER VER

Early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, also known as 'Bitcoin Jesus', who was recently charged with a $50 million tax fraud, is one of the Bitcoin Whales.

According to the latest indictment, Ver failed to declare the 131,000 Bitcoin he owned in 2014 when he renounced his citizenship. Using this method, Ver allegedly failed to declare his Bitcoin holdings and evaded taxes.

Currently, Bitcoin is trading at around $60,000, which means Ver's 131,000 Bitcoins are worth more than $8 billion.

Although cryptocurrencies are highly risky, it cannot be denied that their continuous growth brings huge profits to investors.

David Pac

Update 11 May 2024