$BTC The largest holders of Bitcoin (BTC) in the world can be divided into three main categories: individuals, private entities, and governments. Here is an updated summary of the main holders:

---

1. Individuals ("Bitcoin whales")

These are early investors or large buyers who control enormous amounts of BTC. Some known names:

Satoshi Nakamoto (the anonymous creator of Bitcoin):

Estimated between 1.1 and 1.2 million BTC (never moved).

Current value: over $60 billion (according to market price).

Tim Draper (venture capitalist):

Acquired 29,656 BTC in a U.S. government auction.

Michael Saylor / MicroStrategy:

Saylor personally owns ~17,732 BTC.

MicroStrategy (the company he leads) owns more than 214,000 BTC (further down in entities).

---

2. Entities and companies

These organizations have accumulated large reserves as part of their financial or investment strategies:

MicroStrategy:

~214,400 BTC (the largest corporate reserve in the world).

Purchased since 2020 onwards.

Tesla (although it has sold some):

Owned ~10,500 BTC (after some sales).

Block.one (the company behind EOS):

Estimated at 140,000 BTC.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC):

At its peak, managed over 600,000 BTC for institutional investors.

Binance and other exchanges (like Coinbase, Bitfinex, Kraken):

Although they technically hold BTC on behalf of users, the addresses controlled by exchanges like Binance contain hundreds of thousands of BTC.

---

3. Governments

Some governments have confiscated large amounts of BTC in judicial operations:

United States (US Marshals/DOJ):

Has seized over 200,000 BTC in total.

Sometimes auctions them (as in the case of Silk Road).

China:

It is estimated to have seized ~194,000 BTC following the PlusToken case in 2019.

It is unclear whether they sold them or continue to hold them.