After months of accumulating billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, the successful BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launched earlier this year collectively hold more of the alpha crypto than its mysterious, pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto . Satoshi Loses Top Bitcoin Holder Crown To BTC ETFs A chart posted on X (aka Twitter) on Dec. 6 by Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shows that the 11 spot Bitcoin funds now trading on U.S. stock exchanges hold as much as 1,103,965 BTC as of Dec. 5. Bitcoin’s enigmatic creator (or creators) mined the first Bitcoin back in 2009 under the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto, and their true identity has remained a mystery. Satoshi is believed to have mined roughly 22,000 of the first blocks, which, when multiplied by the 50 BTC block reward at the time, gives 1.1 million BTC. “The US spot ETFs have just passed Satoshi in total Bitcoin held, now hold more than 1.1 million, more than anyone in the world, and they’re not even a year old yet, literally babies still. Mind-blowing,” Balchunas quipped. 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 The 11 ETFs’ unprecedented accumulation signals significant investor interest in Bitcoin exposure via highly regulated investment products, despite these red-hot vehicles only going live in the US market in January. The most prominent BTC ETF is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest Bitcoin ETF by assets under management. The IBIT recently topped 500,000 BTC (or over $50 billion) in AUM just as the price of the maiden cryptocurrency hit the $100,000 milestone for the first time on Wednesday. Notably, BlackRock boss Larry Fink conceded earlier this year that he was wrong about crypto and has changed his stance over the last five years. Spot Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT have played a huge role in bringing traditional institutional and retail investors into the crypto market. The data cited by Balchunas indicates that the cumulative ETF holdings now exceed those of crypto giant Binance by 41%. In addition, the ETFs hold roughly 62% more BTC than is held by software firm MicroStrategy — the world’s largest Bitcoin corporate holder. All in all, it is unlikely that Satoshi will ever move their 1.1 million BTC. As ZyCrypto previously reported , Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz recently contended that the enigmatic Bitcoin originator is no longer alive.
