The mysterious creator of Bitcoin now sits on a fortune worth over $100 billion, as the cryptocurrency’s price climbed back above $94,000 this week.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor who disappeared from public view more than a decade ago, holds approximately 1.1 million Bitcoin, according to data from analytics platform Arkham.
If Satoshi were a public figure today, their net worth would rank them 16th on Forbes’ list of billionaires worldwide. This would position Bitcoin’s inventor above prominent business personalities such as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and computer mogul Michael Dell.
The value of these Bitcoin holdings reached a high of $120 billion when Bitcoin hit its all-time high in January before falling during the recent market correction.
Perhaps most salient in the wealth of Satoshi is just how little money he has utilized. Studies demonstrate that of what’s estimated as 1.1 million Bitcoins residing in the dormant wallets, merely 907 BTC have actually ever been disbursed.
Mining from Satoshi had, by and by, reached its end when the singularly patterned mode of mining labeled as the “Patoshi pattern” closed with block number 54,316 during May 2010. Such a defining technical signature has aided researchers following the early mine works of Satoshi throughout over 22,000 blocks.
Bitcoin momentarily traded at $94,400 before settling at a slightly lower price, a monthly high. This is a 25% recovery from its recent fall to $74,400 in the first part of this month, the lowest since November 2024. As the value of Bitcoin rises, long-term holders are watching their investments increase again.
Whereas Satoshi’s holdings are still the biggest single Bitcoin hoard, institutional investors are closing in. Bitcoin ETFs collectively now hold almost as much Bitcoin as Satoshi, with total holdings worth about $104 billion.
BlackRock is the leading ETF providers with Bitcoin holdings of $50 billion, followed by Grayscale with $17 billion. Strategy (previously MicroStrategy) is still accumulating and now holds 538,200 BTC worth nearly $50 billion.
The ongoing absence of the founder of Bitcoin has raised so many questions regarding what happened to this massive cryptocurrency wealth. In its analysis, Whale Alert states Satoshi potentially mined as much as 1,125,150 BTC before he vanished from the Bitcoin world. Whether such coins will ever be moved is still one of the largest cryptocurrency enigmas.
Traders keep a close eye on these sleeping wallets since any unusual activity may have a noticeable effect on Bitcoin prices and conceivably give information regarding Satoshi Nakamoto’s whereabouts or identity.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView