Who owns the most bitcoin?

The person believed to own the most bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin's pseudonymous creator. After that, the biggest holders are funds, companies and governments rather than individuals. Because bitcoin addresses do not carry names, every ranking relies on public filings, company disclosures and blockchain analysis, and figures change often.

Who owns the most bitcoin in the world?

Arkham, a blockchain analytics firm, attributes about 1.096 million BTC to Satoshi Nakamoto, mined in 2009 and 2010 and never spent. That is more than 5% of the 21 million cap. Whether Satoshi still has the keys is unknown, as explained in how much bitcoin Satoshi has.

BitcoinTreasuries.NET, which tracks disclosed holdings, groups the largest known holders into categories. As of mid-October 2026, it counted about 1.61 million BTC held by ETFs and exchanges, 1.29 million by public companies, 646,000 by governments and 285,000 by private companies. Exchange balances largely belong to their customers, not to the exchanges.

Which company owns the most bitcoin?

Strategy, the company formerly called MicroStrategy, is the largest corporate holder by a wide margin. Its own purchase page shows 848,250 BTC after a buy on October 12, 2026. The next four public companies on BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Metaplanet, Twenty One Capital, Strive and MARA Holdings, each held between about 35,000 and 44,000 BTC. The model these firms follow is covered in what a crypto treasury company is.

How big are bitcoin ETF holdings?

Spot bitcoin ETFs hold actual coins with a custodian on behalf of shareholders. The largest, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), held 806,037 BTC as of October 7, 2026, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET. Its issuer page lists about 1.42 billion shares outstanding on October 12. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund was second with about 184,000 BTC, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust with about 132,000.

Taken together, ETFs make up the largest single category of known holders. For how these funds work, read what a bitcoin ETF is.

Which country owns the most bitcoin?

The United States is generally ranked first. Newhedge's government tracker lists about 330,000 BTC for the US, followed by China at 190,000, the United Kingdom at about 61,000 and Ukraine at about 46,000. Its list also includes smaller holders such as North Korea, Bhutan, El Salvador and the United Arab Emirates, and puts all tracked governments together at about 3% of total supply.

These are estimates, mostly based on known seizures and on addresses linked to governments. Official totals are rarely published. The US case, including its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, is explained in does the US government own bitcoin.