With Bitcoin (BTC) breaking new records, the list — albeit unofficial — of the world’s richest people has gained a layer of mystery. Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous figure who created BTC and, consequently, gave rise to the cryptocurrency market, now appears as the 11th richest person on the planet.
After approaching the $112,000 mark, BTC underwent a slight correction and on Tuesday (27) was trading at around $110,000. With this, Satoshi's estimated fortune jumped to approximately $121 billion, according to data from blockchain tracking platform Arkham Intelligence.
Although he does not appear in official rankings due to his anonymity, Satoshi's position is comparable to that of billionaires such as Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
◾How much longer until the top 10?
According to Arkham, around 1.1 million bitcoins are associated with Satoshi — equivalent to 5.2% of the total supply of BTC in circulation. Depending on the cryptocurrency’s performance, this number could quickly reach new heights.
If bitcoin reaches $130,000, the creator of the digital asset would surpass Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, officially entering the top 10 richest people in the world.
And the most optimistic scenarios are even more ambitious: Bitwise estimates at the end of 2024 suggested that BTC could reach US$200,000 in 2025 and, in the most aggressive scenario, US$500,000, based on the effects of the creation of a national reserve of the crypto asset in the United States.
At this rate, Satoshi Nakamoto could surpass Jeff Bezos ($222 billion) in the most conservative scenario and, in the most ambitious forecast, even Elon Musk — currently number one in the ranking, with a fortune of $374 billion. With bitcoin at $500,000, Satoshi's fortune would reach $550 billion.
Even in more realistic contexts, the long-term appreciation of bitcoin tends to further boost the position of the digital currency's creator in wealth rankings.