Cryptocurrency attracts many investors. Some try to make money by buying and holding only small fractions of bitcoin. Others invest millions and even billions of dollars for the sake of making bigger profits. Among such people are famous personalities like Ilon Musk. The top 100 richest bitcoin wallets in October 2021 totaled 2.76 million BTC (about 15% of all mined coins). Given the Bitcoin exchange rate in effect at the time, this is equivalent to $171 billion.
Types of Bitcoin wallets
A BTC vault is essentially an address where assets are placed on the blockchain and looks like a combination of symbols. With a certain amount of interest, any user can specify it in the blockchain explorer and examine the wallet balance.
Analytical agencies study such information automatically and create interesting compilations. This includes “Who has the most Bitcoins”.
All types of wallets – “cold” and “hot” – are involved in the research. Briefly about the main differences:
- “Hot” wallet. This is an app or account that is connected to the internet.
- “Cold” wallet. This is a set of keys stored on a device that is not connected to the Internet. The security of such a wallet is higher compared to a “hot” wallet. But “cold” storage is more difficult to work with. Coin holders do not have the ability to transfer assets in one click.
It is also important to understand the principle of operation of each individual type of accounts in the Bitcoin network. There are only 5 of them:
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- Desktop. Installed on a computer, do not require authorization on the exchange or other online service to work.
- Web wallets. Convenient for most users. Such storages work through online services in different browsers.
- Mobile applications. A good option for a person who finds it more convenient to conduct transactions through a smartphone or tablet.
- Paper cryptocurrency wallets. These are ordinary sheets on which the private and public keys are written. More often QR codes are printed on paper for scanning.
- Hardware accounts. Separate devices, usually in the form of a flash drive, which contain a record with a private and public key. Used to securely store a large amount of coins because they are tamper-resistant.
The type of BTC account should be chosen based on the degree of protection against hacking, the amount of coins and the preferences of the holder.
“Hot” vaults have a number of advantages:
- Quick access to transactions. Such vaults have a constant connection to the internet, so they work directly with the blockchain. Only network access is required for trading transactions.
- Speed of transactions. A direct connection to the internet creates the opportunity to make transfers faster.
“Cold” accounts work on a separate device and are not tied to the network. This accounts for their main plus – increased security. However, among the disadvantages can be noted:
- Slow access to trading operations. For example, when applying hardware wallets, the user needs to connect the device to a computer and download the key.
- Inability to work with multiple cryptocurrencies simultaneously. Unlike users of desktop and mobile applications, the owner of hardware storage does not have parallel access to different blockchains.
“Cold” wallets are good because an attacker can steal savings only if he takes away the physical media or a sheet with recorded keys. But “hot vaults” are more susceptible to hacking because of constant access to the Internet.
Large investors, owners of the richest bitcoin addresses, risk being left without money if a single wallet key is lost. For this reason, forward-thinking investors split their Bitcoin into multiple vaults at once. This allows them to diversify (reduce) the risk of losing all of their savings.
Top 100 Richest Bitcoin Wallets
There are 38.6 million crypto vaults with a positive balance in the Bitcoin network as of November 1, 2021. The total number of BTC wallets is 912.6 million. The richest bitcoin addresses are presented in the table in descending order of coin amount. Since blockchain is a public registry, anyone can personally check the balance of each vault thanks to monitoring services like blockchain.com:
| Address | Amount coins | Percentage of total valuation value Bitcoin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34xp4vRoCGJym3xR7yCVPFHoCNxv4Twseo | 288 126 | 1,53% |
| 2 | bc1qgdjqv0av3q56jvd82tkdjpy7gdp9ut8tlqmgrpmv24sq90ecnvqqqjwvww97 | 178 011 | 0,94% |
| 3 | 1P5ZEDWTKTFGxQjZphgWPQUpe554WKDfHQ | 105 759 | 0,56% |
| 4 | 37XuVSEpWWW4trkfmvWzegTHQt7BdktSKUs | 94 505 | 0,5% |
| 5 | 38UmuUqPCrFmQo4khkomQwZ4VbY2nZMJ67 | 93 566 | 0,5% |
| 6 | 1FeexV6bAHb8ybZjqQMjJJrcCrHGW9sb6uF | 79 957 | 0,42% |
| 7 | 3Kzh9qAqVWQhEsfQz7zEQL1EuSx5tyNLNS | 78 465 | 0,42% |
| 8 | 3LYJfcfHPHPXYJreMsASk2jkn69LWEYKzexb | 73 601 | 0,39% |
| 9 | bc1qa5wkgaew2dkv56kfvj49j0av5nml45x9ek9hz6 | 69 370 | 0,37% |
| 10 | 3LQeSjqS5aXJVCDGSHPR88QvjheTwrhP8N | 58 815 | 0,31% |
| 11 | 1LdRcdxfbSnmCYYNdeYpUnztiYzVfBEQeC | 53 880 | 0,29% |
| 12 | 1AC4fMwgY8j9onSbXEWeH6Zan8QGMSdmtA | 51 830 | 0,28% |
| 13 | 1LruNZjwamWJXThX2Y8C2d47QqhAkkc5os | 44 000 | 0,23% |
| 14 | 3Gpex6g5FPmYWm26myFq7dW12ntd8zMcCY | 40 014 | 0,21% |
| 15 | bc1q5shngj24323nsrmxv99st02na6srekfctt30ch | 40 000 | 0,21% |
| 16 | 1NDyJtNTjmwk5xPNhjgAMu4HDHigtobu1s | 39 747 | 0,21% |
| 17 | 385cR5DM96n1HvBDMzLHPYcw89fZAXULJP | 39 002 | 0,21% |
| 18 | 159QgP4Ewvvadjc4HDpaaR6pir2R4ZfzVfQ | 38 410 | 0,2% |
| 19 | bc1q7ydrtdn8z62xhslqyqtyt38mm4e2c4h3mxjkug | 36 000 | 0,19% |
| 20 | 3EBpAZUAW5Tzyd2FhmmUZnYgftxJkKSLmJ | 35 237 | 0,19% |
| 21 | 3FpYfDGJSdkMAvZvCrwPHDqdmGqUkTsJys | 32 544 | 0,17% |
| 22 | 12XqeqZRVkBDgmPLVY4ZC6Y4ruUUEug8Fx | 32 354 | 0,17% |
| 23 | 3LCGsSmfr24demGvriN4e3ft8wEcDuHFqh | 32 223 | 0,17% |
| 24 | 3FHNBLobJnbCTFTVakh5TXmEneyf5PT61B | 31 275 | 0,17% |
| 25 | 12ib7dApVVFvg82TXKycWBNpN8kFyiAN1dr | 31 000 | 0,16% |
| 26 | bc1qx9t2l3pyny2spqpqpqlye8svce70nppwtaxwdrp4 | 28 353 | 0,15% |
| 27 | 12tkqqA9xSoowkzoERHMWNKsTey55YEBqkv | 28 151 | 0,15% |
| 28 | bc1q5pucatprjrqltdp58f92mhqkfuvwpa43vhsjwpxlryude0plzyhqjqqqazp | 27 000 | 0,14% |
| 29 | bc1q6kyur2rn044ddp4j9gtdlswhdyrg7u7t9c0j36 | 26 169 | 0,14% |
| 30 | 17MWdxfjPYP2PYhdy885QtihfbW181r1rn | 24 495 | 0,13% |
| 31 | 19D5J8c59P2bAkWKvxSYw8scD3KUNWoZ1C | 23 969 | 0,13% |
| 32 | 1aXzEKiDJKzkPxTZy9zGc3y1nCDwDPub2 | 23 631 | 0,13% |
| 33 | 19iqYbeATe4RxghQZZJnYVFU4mjUUUu76EA6 | 23 630 | 0,13% |
| 34 | bc1qqnt4td9a8xqrqtswvf6n27x0p8n948l2fgye3r6f3yk2d9838scs77ptr3 | 23 040 | 0,12% |
| 35 | 1932eKraQ3Ad9MeNBHb14WFQbNrNrLaKeEpT | 22 900 | 0,12% |
| 36 | 1MDq7zyLw6oKichbFiDDDZ3aaK59byc6CT8 | 22 400 | 0,12% |
| 37 | 3FupZp77ySr7jwoLYEJ9mwzJpvoNBXsBnE | 21 713 | 0,12% |
| 38 | 3HSMPBUuAPQf6CU5B3qa6fALrrZXswHaF1 | 20 241 | 0,11% |
| 39 | bc1qtw30nantkrh7y5ue73gm4mmy0zezfqxug3psr94sd967qwg7f76scfmr9p | 20 136 | 0,11% |
| 40 | 17rm2dvb439dZqyMe2d4D6AQJSgg6yeNRn | 20 008 | 0,11% |
| 41 | 3DVJfEsDTPkGDvqPCLC41X85L1B1DQWDyh | 19 783 | 0,11% |
| 42 | 1PeizMg76Cf96nUQrYg8xuoZWLQozU5zGW | 19 414 | 0,1% |
| 43 | 38FkZJ32qaNTieBFUVHqQS1LQAZK8VFKkx | 18 800 | 0,1% |
| 44 | 35pgGeez3ou6ofrpjt8T7bvC9t6RrUK4p6 | 17 132 | 0,09% |
| 45 | 3H5JTtt42K7RmZtromfTSefcMEFMMe18pMD | 16 786 | 0,09% |
| 46 | 39szwP9jSLnf61pEzqBKu5Go4cKwD8oWRn | 16 006 | 0,08% |
| 47 | 1LixNYA5WNosrVmrQJbm7rUXTWNxZaqGR2 | 15 856 | 0,08% |
| 48 | 1GR9qNz7zgtaW5HwwVpEJWMnGWhsbsbsieCG | 15 746 | 0,08% |
| 49 | 1KUr81aewyTFFUfnq4ZrpePZqXixd59ToNn | 15 000 | 0,08% |
| 50 | 3BMEXxSMT2b2b2kvsnC4Q35d2kKJZ4u9bSLh | 14 805 | 0,08% |
| 51 | 3BMEXqGpG4FxBA1KWhRFufXfSTRgzfDBhJ | 14 770 | 0,08% |
| 52 | 39gUvGynQ7Re3i15G3J2gp9DEB9LnLFPMN | 14 528 | 0,08% |
| 53 | 3EMVdMehEq5SFipQ5UfbsfMsH223sSz9A9 | 14 199 | 0,08% |
| 54 | 1BZaYtmXka1y3Byi2yvXCDG92Tjz7ecwYj | 14 000 | 0,07% |
| 55 | bc1qvpgyac88vqtslewxu7yu9dqwp8rd83zch55zpm3xgn3mgg72w3kqv0s8qa | 13 630 | 0,07% |
| 56 | 1F3Cpgben5uRAMptnPRL9coAbKp9YmWqfb | 13 310 | 0,07% |
| 57 | bc1q4jchcr7nla277su5lpjzttxp3xg5j8wds5lcwg | 13 160 | 0,07% |
| 58 | 35ULMyVnFoYaPaMxwHTRmaGdABpAThM4QR | 13 105 | 0,07% |
| 59 | bc1q4vxn43l44h30nkluqfxd9eckf45vr2awz38lwa | 13 003 | 0,07% |
| 60 | 1D2B7zfX6HgnuG7bMT1znFMsGdqX97Fnon | 13 000 | 0,07% |
| 61 | 3ETUmNhL2JuCFFVNSpk8Bqx2eorxyP9FVh | 12 886 | 0,07% |
| 62 | bc1qpy4jwethqenp4r7hqls660wy8287vw0my32lmy | 12 594 | 0,07% |
| 63 | 3GWUKxq55XsQ7rkzbxAgfSyf6KHp8Ljh3R | 12 000 | 0,06% |
| 64 | 1F34duy2eeMz5mSrvFepVzy7Y1rBsnAyWC | 10 771 | 0,06% |
| 65 | bc1qhd0r5kh3u9mhac7de58qd2rdfx4kkv84kpx302 | 10 500 | 0,06% |
| 66 | bc1qjh0akslml59uuczddqu0y4p3vj64hg5mc94c40 | 10 297 | 0,05% |
| 67 | bc1qzhpuphvclm0qujk34qc7tyhlevcj6g325m4szu | 10 059 | 0,05% |
| 68 | 1f1miYFQWTzdLiCBxtHHnNiW7WAWPUccr | 10 009 | 0,05% |
| 69 | bc1qsxdxm0exqdsmnl9ejrz250xqxrxpxkgf5nhhtq | 10 002 | 0,05% |
| 70 | 1BAFWQhQhH9pNkz3mZDQ1tWrtKkkSHVCkc3fV | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 71 | 14YK4mzJGo5NKkkNnmVJeuEAQftLt795Gec | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 72 | 1Ki3WTEEqTLPNsN5cGTsMkL2sJ4m5mdCXT | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 73 | 1KbrSKrT3GeEruTuuYYUSQ35JwKbrAWJYm | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 74 | 1P1iThxBH542Gmk1kZNXyji4E4iwpvSbrt | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 75 | 12tLs9c9RsALt4ockxa1hB4iTCTSmxj2me | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 76 | 1ucXXZQSEf4zny2HRwAQKtVpkLPTUKRtt | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 77 | 1CPaziTqeEixPoSFtJxu74uDGbpEAotZom | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 78 | 1LfV1tSt3KNyHpFJnAzrqsLFdeD2EvU1MK | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 79 | 1PN1xjngm9jhY9duuR8af7CXmK3QVcsixJ | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 80 | 3DwVjwVeJa9Za9Z5Pu15WHNfKcDxY5tFUGfdx | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 81 | 1EU2pMence1UfifCco2UHJCdoqorAtpT7 | 10 000 | 0,05% |
| 82 | 1JaUiAyoRXr4kqxm3ZQP5uFZmF57bkqXbu | 9975 | 0,05% |
| 83 | bc1qlkdlchlylfdkspvevnlqqqlmt4l222hwva2z3n7 | 9906 | 0,05% |
| 84 | bc1qg6kqkkaexnxpvle8w3zy5j7w4k9uz5rqmrx5lw | 9905 | 0,05% |
| 85 | bc1qqdykm85ycxjqjh5hrkwmewts02mm6ku5rlck3m | 9904 | 0,05% |
| 86 | bc1qgc5h9vz0zp4cmlxuw0h6jgryetq08e4twen03f | 9903 | 0,05% |
| 87 | bc1qxv55wuzz4qsfgss3uq2zwg5y88d7qv5hg67d2d | 9901 | 0,05% |
| 88 | 1Cus9pZdkckCz23bDAsKMY6aLSQ7CmuHyw | 9901 | 0,05% |
| 89 | 1MLsZmbT3mgmm6zLkTR26yJHVfn8BSdqqd | 9901 | 0,05% |
| 90 | 17GAbQ5DSqnEhyrMMLd9yaraAmVyvoZJ3Z | 9901 | 0,05% |
| 91 | bc1qmjpguunz9lc7h6zf533wtjc70ync94ptnrjqmk | 9901 | 0,05% |
| 92 | bc1qyr9dsfyst3epqycghpxshfmgy8qfzadfhp8suk | 9900 | 0,05% |
| 93 | bc1q8qg2eazryu9as20k3hveuvz43thp200g7nw7qy | 9900 | 0,05% |
| 94 | bc1q4ffskt6879l4ewffrrflpykvphshl9la4q037h | 9895 | 0,05% |
| 95 | 134ooU6EQmCFFzEPN7yga3S1XikcBtynco | 9867 | 0,05% |
| 96 | 16BBBjvAArL3zdb1Fh1isr2w2hX7K1K4Gm | 9867 | 0,05% |
| 97 | 1Jc7vYQHCnmdyhbpcv5o3pYtUbH6Sk139z | 9843 | 0,05% |
| 98 | 1GRHovygR3NnCaxhWrF7n8crPPPwmfnB5gg | 9810 | 0,05% |
| 99 | 3265tcUcp8dBhBBwp4rKN3iyUptuHkzMq7 | 9759 | 0,05% |
| 100 | 17rVQwoL5v18KfoQJNMMoMBm3rDjodxw1m | 9740 | 0,05169% |
Who has the most BTC
It is believed that the largest holder of Bitcoin coins is Satoshi Nakamoto. This is the creator of the Bitcoin protocol – the first cryptocurrency in history. It is known that he managed to mine about 1.1 million BTC back in the early days of the system’s development. It is believed that Satoshi Nakamoto divided his savings into many parts. Some of his addresses hold as little as 50 BTC each.
As of October 2021, it is unknown whether funds have been withdrawn from Satoshi Nakamoto’s crypto vaults. It is hard to say whether he can be called the largest investor in Bitcoin. One has to consider the anonymity of this person or group of people.
Investors
It is difficult to identify the richest bitcoin holder. Big investors often divide the invested capital into several parts. Also, the Bitcoin network is considered an anonymous system. For this reason, it is much more difficult to identify address holders than customers of traditional financial services.
The richest bitcoin wallet as of October 2021 belongs to the crypto exchange Binance. This is a “cold” account. Its main purpose is to store the funds of the site’s users. It will be wrong to say that its owner is the largest holder of BTC, since the money belongs to many customers.
A similar story can be traced in some other addresses from the top 100. Some of them are created by cryptocurrency platforms to store users’ investments.
FBI
In 2013, a high-profile news was published. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was able to shut down the online marketplace for the sale of narcotic substances Silk Road. The platform’s accounts were seized.
The Bureau took control of more than 144,000 bitcoins. FBI employees called this result an “unintended side effect” of shutting down the online drug marketplace.
After the leak, the U.S. Government stopped releasing other details about the event. What happened next with the FBI-controlled wallet is unknown. But there is information that some of the coins (29,656) were bought from the auction by Tim Draper – founder of the venture capital hedge fund firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Summary
As of October 2021, the largest holder of Bitcoin is unknown. The cryptocurrency community considers Satoshi Nakamoto as such. The creator of the Bitcoin system managed to mine up to 1 million coins. Savings are distributed to different addresses. Because of the anonymity of the blockchain, it is impossible to verify these assumptions.
On the largest cryptocurrency wallet in October 2021 stored 288.1 thousand. BTC, which is about 1.5% of all mined koins.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Which type of bitcoin wallet is best?
Traders are more likely to register accounts on mobile and online services. But each type of wallet has its own advantages and disadvantages.
💎 Why are cold vaults needed?
They are used to safely hold assets. More often such services are used by owners of large volumes of BTC.
💵 How much does a hardware wallet cost?
In 2021, the price of the device starts from $80.
🔍 How many bitcoins does Satoshi Nakamoto have?
The exact number is unknown. A person or group of people from Japan is believed to be hiding under a pseudonym. It has not yet been possible to reliably establish the identity.
💰 What is the amount stored in the top 1 Bitcoin wallet?
As of October 15, 2021, the balance of this address is $17.22 billion.
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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.
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