Bitcoin ETFs Surpass Satoshi Nakamoto’s Holdings

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has concluded that 12 companies offering spot Bitcoin ETFs now manage more coins than the creator of the first cryptocurrency, Satoshi Nakamoto.

KING OF THE HILL: The US spot ETFs have just passed Satoshi in total bitcoin held, now hold more than 1.1m, more than anyone in the world, and they’re not even a year old yet, literally babies still. Mind blowing. h/t @EdmondsonShaun for the data pic.twitter.com/FQBIGGz5ei

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 6, 2024

“King of the hill: The US spot ETFs have just surpassed Satoshi in total bitcoin held. They now have more than 1.1 million—more than anyone in the world. And these funds aren’t even a year old—they’re literally infants. Astonishing!” the expert wrote.

According to SoSo Value, the 12 publicly traded exchange-traded funds hold Bitcoin assets worth $112.74 billion. As before, BlackRock’s IBIT leads the pack, with its holdings exceeding 500,000 BTC.

Inflow of funds continues unabated. Significant progress is also observed among Ethereum-based funds.

The cumulative inflow since the approval of BTC-ETF in January has reached $32.3 billion.

Satoshi’s Billions

Researchers, including Sergio Demian Lerner, estimate Satoshi Nakamoto’s holdings at about 1.1 million BTC. These conclusions are based on a detailed analysis of early network mining, where the analyst identified the so-called “Patoshi pattern” in the blockchain.

It is believed that Satoshi mined about 22,000 of the first blocks. Given the 50 BTC reward at the time, this suggests a total of 1.1 million BTC. The coins have remained untouched since their creation.

At current market prices, 1.1 million BTC is valued at over $100 billion. This could make Satoshi one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, trailing only names like Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Jeff Bezos. However, it remains uncertain whether the Bitcoin creator is alive and whether the private keys are lost.

Earlier, as Bitcoin retreated from the $100,000 level, BlackRock acquired 7,750 BTC.