Guellord MbusaBitcoin (BTC) is not only the pioneer of the crypto ecosystem, it is also the major asset in the peer-to-peer payments system. Bitcoin is the star of the cryptocurrencies with the most valued market capitalization in the ecosystem. Her decentralization and its resistance to censorship attracted a host of early crypto investors.
In just a few years, the number of active addresses that hold bitcoin (BTC) has increased from 1 in July 000 to around a million by the end of 2010. But of all these accounts, which one has the most bitcoin (BTC)? And what is the concentration of bitcoin whales?
What is Bitcoin in Decentralized Finance?
Bitcoin is a system of peer-to-peer payment. That is to say, it allows its holders to make payments from one person to another without going through intermediaries (financial institutions, banks, etc.). “We proposed a system of electronic transactions without relying on trust“, wrote Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin white paper.
The famous anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto, published on Bitcoin white paper in October 2008 and January 2009 followed the mining of the first block. This will result in the issuance of the first bitcoin (BTC) tokens as a reward to its miner. We recall that the engineer Hal Finney was the first recipient to receive bitcoin.
Indeed, new BTC are created as a reward to miners who validate transactions and add transaction history to the public ledger of the Bitcoin blockchain.
BTC's market capitalization was $387,87 billion at a price of $20 at the start of this month before this little winter hit the market. Its market capitalization reached more than $000 trillion at its peak in November 1 at a record price of $100. Today its price has fallen by more than 2021%. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $68.
Why is there so much “trust” in bitcoin (BTC)?
The monetary invention of Satoshi NAKAMOTO gains confidence from the fact that he is an active deflationary. "hard cap”. That is, there are a limited number of bitcoins that will be mined. The maximum bitcoin supply is capped at 21 million and not one more sat.
Additionally, the bitcoin issuance rate is designed to decrease over time in a process known as “Halving”. This halving event, the reward for miners with each validation of a new block, occurs every 210 blocks, or approximately every four years. The most recent halving event occurred in May 000, when the mining reward fell from 2021 BTC per block to 12,5 BTC. The next one is expected to occur in 6,25, after which BTC issuance will drop to 2024 BTC per block.
To date, more than 19,19 million BTC have been mined, representing 91% of the maximum BTC supply, according to CoinMarketCap . There are therefore only less than two million bitcoins left to extract.
The last bitcoin should be mined in 2140. So users can sleep soundly by preferring to invest in bitcoin to fight inflation. THE bitcoin is over 14 years old today and more and more people claim that bitcoin is a sound money. This is what strengthens investors' confidence in the asset, just as it does for those who buy gold For years.
According to CoinTelegraph, approximately 20% of the bitcoins in circulation have been lost..And are irrecoverable (loss of hard drive, keys, etc.).
So who owns the most bitcoin (BTC)?
According to the bitcoin(BTC)-focused asset manager, River Financial , Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin, is estimated to be the largest holder of bitcoin. He is believed to be in possession of more than a million BTC stored in around 22 addresses.
According to the same source, none of Nakamoto's estimated BTC holdings were moved other than in a few test transactions.
By reviewing wallet address data compiled by BitInfoChart , major bitcoin holders identified as addresses linked to cryptocurrency exchanges Binance (BNB) and BitFinex.
The Binance wallet was the richest address with 252 bitcoins worth over $597 billion and representing 5% of the circulating BTC supply. The BitFinex wallet held approximately 1,3% of the current circulating supply of BTC, as of early November 0,9.
The third richest bitcoin address, holding 131 BTC on November 883, 3, remained anonymous. It should be noted that although blockchain data is transparent and wallet balances are publicly visible, the identity of a wallet address holder remains anonymous unless voluntarily disclosed.
Which companies also own bitcoin (BTC)?
It is not easy to determine a person's bitcoin(BTC) ownership. This is more complex than tracking wallet addresses because most of them belong to exchanges that hold assets from multiple investors.
Apart from the companies operating in the ecosystem, several other companies have accumulated BTC over the years. The American software company microstrategy (MSTR) was the largest publicly traded company owning bitcoin in the world.
🤑 MicroStrategy said in its third quarter 2022 results that it acquired 301 bitcoins during the quarter to bring its total holdings to 130 BTC valued at around 000 billion at the start of this month. The co-founder of MicroStrategy is the famous “Michael J. Saylor” who is particularly active inbitcoin ecosystem. He is the quintessential face of “bitcoin maximalist”. He invests in many projects related to the development of Bitcoin, for example.
🤑 Tesla (TSLA) was also known to be among the largest holders of bitcoins. However, this automaker announced on July 20, 2022 that it had sold 75% of its bitcoin holdings without disclosing the amount of bitcoin it held.
Which countries have the most bitcoin?
Beyond the entrepreneurs and companies who own the most bitcoin, states and governments have also acquired it.
The total number of bitcoins held by El Salvador, a country where bitcoin(BTC) is an official currency, was estimated at around 2, as of June 301, 15. According to the Fortune news agency, based on the Salvadoran president's purchase announcement Nayib Bukele on Twitter.
Likewise, the Ukrainian government has also received numerous donations in bitcoin since the war with Russia. Today, the country would have more than 46,000 BTC. Finland reportedly owns more than 1980 BTC and the government of Georgia would have acquired 66 BTC, thanks to mining farms.
Who are the “known” people who own the most bitcoin?
Satoshi Nakamoto (around 1 million BTC)
It was in fact he who by definition was the first bitcoin miner. He mined 22 blocks in January 000. However, since 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto has not given any news. Satoshi Nakamoto's BTC reserve is stored in more than 2011 addresses. These bitcoins have never been moved, except, a few times, for test operations.
Tim Draper (around 29 BTC)
Tim Draper is an investor known for investing in companies like Skype and Tesla in their early days. He bought bitcoin the first time in 2012. Then, he topped up with another 29 btc amounting to $000 million at the time. Most certainly, Tim Draper purchased other bitcoins subsequently, however, we have no proof.
The Winklevoss Twins (70 BTC)
Became famous with the dispute they had with Mark Zuckerberg and the affair Facebook In 2008, the Winklevoss twin brothers received $65 million from this litigation. They reportedly have over 70 BTC today and have invested in numerous crypto projects. So, they do indeed own a venture capital firm called Winklevoss Capital. They are also the head of the Gemini exchange platform.
Michael Saylor (around 18 BTC)
Michael Saylor is certainly the best-known bitcoin maximalist. Very active on Tweeter for example, he financially supports many Bitcoin projects such as Lightning Network for example.
There are obviously other people who own large sums of BTC like Craig Wright or even fire John MacAfee...
Why is it important to know who holds the most bitcoins?
In short, bitcoin (BTC) is known to be the first cryptocurrency to attract global attention. The absence of venture capitalists, seed investors, and initial coin offerings, which is very common in the cryptocurrency industry, has helped BTC maintain a low number of large holders. SATOSHI being still unknown, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance undoubtedly remains the one who holds the most bitcoin (BTC).
It is essential for bitcoin holders and new investors in this asset to know who has the most bitcoins. Indeed, wallets containing large quantities of BTC can have a significant influence on its price. It is important to know that the whales, that is to say that people who own large amounts of cryptos can manipulate the markets…
"From a public policy perspective, it is important to understand the ownership and concentration of bitcoin holdings because it determines who is best positioned to benefit from any price appreciation.“, said the National Bureau of Economic Research (BBER).
Thus, it is then necessary to follow the concentration of bitcoin because according to The Times newspaper, bitcoin would still be concentrated in the hands of a small group of people…”Bitcoin’s top 10 individual investors control about a third of the cryptocurrency in circulation”…
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- Puerto Rico: the Caribbean island attracts more and more bitcoiners
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Note: No financial advice is given in this or any other article on zonebitcoin. This is information of which you are the sole judge and master. Be responsible with your investments and only invest as much as you are willing to lose.
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