Let's take a look at the holdings of crypto billionaires: What coins do Vitalik, Satoshi Nakamoto, and others have?

Written by: DAVID CANELLIS, Blockworks

Compiled by: Katie from Planet Daily

Blockchain has changed the way we view money and has opened up a whole new enjoyment in "appreciating" the assets in others' wallets. Those interested in cryptocurrency can now openly study the holdings of crypto billionaires on-chain, without needing to guess by researching SEC filings or Forbes lists.

In fact, there has never been a shortage of billionaires on-chain, but most of them are anonymous, with people only knowing their addresses. However, a few big names have publicly disclosed their wallet addresses (thus revealing part of their portfolios).

Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin: Unexpected "Dog Lover"

In 2021, Vitalik was named the youngest crypto billionaire in the world by Forbes, when ETH first reached $3,000. On-chain data cannot confirm his title of "youngest crypto billionaire," but it can verify the authenticity of these asset figures.

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, in May 2021, Vitalik's known crypto asset portfolio was valued at around $2 billion, with ETH making up about half of those assets. However, during the Dogecoin surge, Vitalik's asset value was far greater than this.

Dogecoin's fervent fans and issuers transferred large amounts of Dogecoin to Vitalik's Ethereum address. This was a form of "guerrilla" marketing, pretending to be Vitalik himself "scooping up" Dogecoin, deceiving on-chain observers into believing that Vitalik was "bullish" on their meme coin.

Source: Arkham Intelligence

During the last bull market, Vitalik was a major marketing target for meme coins. Therefore, on May 12, 2021, Vitalik's crypto portfolio was valued at over $20.5 billion, placing him on par with the likes of Ray Dalio of Bridgewater and Eric Schmidt of Google.

Among these assets, Shiba Inu (SHIB) accounted for $17.8 billion (87%), but there were many other types of "Dogecoin," including AKITA and HUSKY. The subsequent collapse of SHIB greatly reduced their value, and Vitalik donated the remaining SHIB to COVID-19 relief funds in India.

Vitalik now holds about $484 million in cryptocurrency in his known addresses, almost entirely in ETH. Arkham Intelligence states that over the years, Vitalik has sent $74 million in on-chain assets to crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Kraken.

Ripple Co-founder Jed McCaleb: 8-Year "Sell-off Marathon"

Jed McCaleb has sold billions of XRP over nearly a decade. Until last year, Ripple Labs was continuously sending XRP to Jed McCaleb's infamous "tacostand" address, which he then sold on the open market.

Ripple was initially concerned that Jed McCaleb would quickly sell off the rewards he received as a founder, totaling 9 billion XRP (worth $54 million at the time of the 2016 settlement with Ripple, now worth $4.2 billion).

The settlement agreement strictly regulated how much XRP Jed McCaleb could receive each year, starting at $10,000 per week in 2015, and then 2 billion XRP per year after 2020 (worth $844 million).

Jed McCaleb's XRP sell-off peaked in 2021. (Source: Whale Alert)

Jed McCaleb's "tacostand" address no longer holds XRP, having received its last transfer in mid-2022, marking the end of this 8-year XRP "sell-off marathon."

On-chain observation agency Whale Alert estimates that Jed McCaleb sold 5.7 billion XRP over the past 8 years, profiting $3.1 billion. The company found that Jed McCaleb sold XRP at an average price of $0.55, about 19% higher than the current price. Forbes estimates Jed McCaleb's net worth at $2.4 billion, following his creation of the blockchain network Stellar.

TRON Founder Justin Sun

Justin Sun held $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency at the peak of his portfolio in September 2021. This figure would place Justin Sun among the world's 500 richest billionaires alongside Chip Wilson, founder of athletic apparel brand Lululemon, and Andreas Halvorsen of the American hedge fund Viking Global. The historical high of Justin Sun's asset portfolio is strong evidence.

About 95% of his portfolio is locked in Aave and Curve lending protocols, yielding high returns, with market closes reaching historical highs, including 2.63 billion USDC, 478,250 WETH (worth $1.86 billion), and 11,000 BTC (worth $545 million).

Justin Sun has staked his ETH on the Lido platform.

• Today, Justin Sun's known cryptocurrency portfolio is valued at $858 million;
• The 303,660 ETH (STETH) staked on Lido is worth $580 million, followed by stablecoin USDD, valued at $160 million;
• Justin Sun also holds 23,724 ETH (worth $46.76 million) and 6,802 MKR (worth $4.97 million).

Justin Sun is indeed a "wealthy" trader. Data shows that over the years, he has sent $22.6 billion in cryptocurrency to exchanges, with more than half going to Binance.

Satoshi Nakamoto and Other Anonymous Bitcoin Billionaires

The mysterious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is said to have mined between 600,000 BTC (worth $16.75 billion) and 1.1 million BTC (worth $30.7 billion) in the early days. Moreover, these bitcoins are spread across hundreds of addresses, making it somewhat difficult to track these funds directly. If our estimates are correct, Satoshi Nakamoto would rank among the top 50 billionaires in the world, just behind Chanel chairman Alain Wertheimer.

The address named "1 Feex" is another well-known on-chain billionaire. Since March 2011, this address has held nearly 80,000 BTC (worth approximately $2.25 billion), which were once controlled by Ross Ulbricht's Silk Road darknet market.

Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, also asserts ownership of on-chain addresses related to the Silk Road hacking case.

It is believed that individuals connected to this major theft may have access to the "1 Feex" address, although claiming the stolen bitcoins from the Silk Road darknet would undoubtedly bring unnecessary attention. Craig Wright, the alleged creator of Bitcoin, claimed ownership of the stolen bitcoins from the Silk Road in a court case last year but ultimately was unsuccessful.

Excluding cryptocurrency exchanges or other entity addresses, there are fewer than 12 addresses containing Bitcoin worth $1 billion or more. Strangely, according to Etherscan data, there are currently no "anonymous" Ethereum addresses holding ETH worth $1 billion or more.

Coinbase CEO and Other Off-chain Crypto Billionaires

It is worth mentioning that most of the wealth of crypto billionaires is off-chain.

Data from Arkham Intelligence shows that Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong currently holds about $590,000 in assets in his known addresses, almost entirely in ETH.

Brian Armstrong's portfolio peaked at $1.23 million in early February, almost entirely composed of DYDX (the native token of the decentralized exchange dYdX). Forbes estimates Brian Armstrong's current net worth at $2.5 billion.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a staunch supporter of cryptocurrency, holds $4 million in crypto assets. USDC accounts for more than half, followed by STETH and wrapped ETH.

Mark Cuban has been vocal in support of cryptocurrency over the years.

Last August, Mark Cuban held $7.16 million, a historical high. However, 86% of that was locked in USDC on Aave. Other assets include ETH, ApeCoin (APE), ENS, and Rarible (RARI). Forbes estimates Mark Cuban's total net worth at $5.1 billion.

Of course, there are many other crypto billionaires, and these "invisible tycoons" likely hold other unknown cryptocurrencies. In contrast, some crypto influencers often boast about their massive crypto assets without any on-chain evidence.