- Satoshi Nakamoto remains largest holder with 1.09M BTC, about 5.5% of supply.
- BlackRock, Coinbase and Binance dominate ETF and exchange custody.
- Governments like the U.S. hold seized BTC, while firms such as Strategy lead corporate treasuries.
Bitcoin ownership in 2026 shows a concentration among exchanges, ETF issuers, governments, and early holders. According to on-chain data compiled by Arkham, these entities control significant portions of supply. The figures reflect holdings as Bitcoin traded near $126,000 in October 2025, lifting market capitalization to $2.48 trillion.
Satoshi Nakamoto and the Largest Known Holdings
When wallets are grouped by entity, Satoshi Nakamoto remains the largest Bitcoin holder. Arkham data attributes 1,096,358 BTC to addresses linked to early mining activity. Research connects these wallets to the Patoshi Pattern, associated with mining roughly 22,000 blocks.
This Bitcoin has remained largely inactive. Based on current pricing references, the holdings equal roughly $75 billion. Arkham identified these addresses as the only known wallets from which Satoshi ever spent Bitcoin. As a result, this entity alone accounts for about 5.5% of total supply.
Exchanges and ETF Issuers Dominate Custody
Behind Satoshi, exchanges control the largest aggregated balances. Coinbase ranks as the biggest exchange holder, with 993,069 BTC identified on-chain. These assets include customer deposits and operational reserves. Coinbase controls roughly 5% of total Bitcoin supply.
Binance follows with about 661,000 BTC, mostly held in cold wallets. Other large exchange holders include Robinhood and Upbit, each exceeding 180,000 BTC. These wallets primarily custody client funds rather than proprietary assets.
ETF issuers also hold sizable balances. BlackRock controls 761,801 BTC through its spot Bitcoin ETF. Fidelity and Grayscale also rank among the largest ETF-related holders, with Grayscale holding 218,000 BTC under Coinbase custody.
Governments and Corporate Treasuries
Governments now represent another major category. The United States Government holds 328,372 BTC, mainly from asset seizures tied to Silk Road and the Bitfinex hack. The United Kingdom follows with 61,000 BTC seized in criminal investigations.
Among public companies, Strategy leads with confirmed on-chain holdings of 415,230 BTC, though total controlled Bitcoin reaches 714,644 BTC through custodial arrangements. Private firms also feature prominently, with Tether holding 96,369 BTC.
These entities illustrate how Bitcoin ownership in 2026 spans early miners, financial institutions, exchanges, corporations, and sovereign states, based solely on verified on-chain and publicly disclosed data.
