#1 Satoshi Nakamoto – US $115 billion
Spread across 22 000 addresses mined in 2009-2010, the creator’s untouched stack is still the largest individual fortune on any blockchain. Whether the name tags one person or a group, the coins have never moved—an $115 B sleeping volcano that could shake markets if it ever stirs.
#2 Justin Sun – US $1.9 billion on-chain (est. US $5–6 B total)
The TRON founder and BitTorrent CEO keeps a colourful basket of tokens visible on-chain. His recent tussle with Trump-linked World Liberty Financial—after buying a large WLFI tranche and then being black-listed for sending $9 M of tokens to an exchange—shows how political DeFi has become.
#3 Rain Lohmus – US $886 million… and lost
The Estonian banker who co-founded LHV Bank bought 250 000 ETH in the 2014 ICO for roughly $75 k. He then misplaced the wallet seed. The coins sit on-chain, immovable, a permanent reminder that “not your keys” still means “not your coins” even for early believers.
#4 Vitalik Buterin – US $867 million
Ethereum’s co-founder holds mostly ETH, plus a museum of meme-coins (SHIB, ELON, et al.) that projects airdrop to his public address for free publicity. He has donated large chunks before; what remains still ranks him among the top living individuals on any chain.
#5 James Howells – US $838 million under a dump
The Welsh IT tech mined 8 000 BTC on a laptop in 2010. In 2013 he accidentally threw out the hard drive. Newport City Council has repeatedly refused his requests to excavate the landfill. The coins are spendable—just not by him.
#6 Stefan Thomas – US $734 million with two tries left
The German-born coder was paid 7 002 BTC in 2011 for making an explainer video. The password to his IronKey USB is forgotten; eight failed attempts are logged, two remain before the device self-erases. Each guess is literally worth billions.
#7 Clifton Collins – US $629 million seized… and unusable
An Irish grower who funneled drug profits into 6 000 BTC around 2012. After arrest, the paper key—hidden inside a fishing rod—was lost. The Irish state “owns” the coins but cannot move them; they remain unspendable in confiscated wallets.
#8 Owen Gunden – US $561 million (and falling)
Early Mt. Gox and Tradehill arbitrageur. After years of silence he recently shipped 1 800 BTC ($200 M) to Kraken, probably to cash. His rank drops as coins hit exchange hot-wallets.
#9 Mao Shihang (DiscusFish) – US $275 million
Founder of China’s first mining pool F2Pool and custody start-up Cobo. Holdings span BTC, ETH and assorted altcoins—earned from a decade of building the plumbing others trade on.
#10 Patricio Worthalter – US $226 million
The Argentine creator of POAP (Proof-of-Attendance Protocol) turned conference badges into an NFT standard. His wealth is diversified across ETH and governance tokens accrued while bootstrapping Web3’s “event layer.”
Alumni of the Top 10
James Fickel – 57 000 ETH ($203 M) after a $400 k bet in 2016; still holding despite a $43 M ETH/BTC spread trade gone wrong last year.
Stefan George – Gnosis co-founder, $106 M in GNO and Safe ecosystem tokens that power multisig infrastructure for half of DeFi.
Moral of the Ledger
The richest addresses on Earth are ghost towns for some and treasure islands for others. Satoshi’s silence, Lohmus’s lapse, Howells’s garbage—each entry is a case study in asymmetric upside and single-point-of-failure downside. In crypto you can be a billionaire at breakfast and a cautionary tale by dinner; the only thing more valuable than the private key is the backup of the private key.
#1 Satoshi Nakamoto – US $115 billion
Spread across 22 000 addresses mined in 2009-2010, the creator’s untouched stack is still the largest individual fortune on any blockchain. Whether the name tags one person or a group, the coins have never moved—an $115 B sleeping volcano that could shake markets if it ever stirs.
#2 Justin Sun – US $1.9 billion on-chain (est. US $5–6 B total)
The TRON founder and BitTorrent CEO keeps a colourful basket of tokens visible on-chain. His recent tussle with Trump-linked World Liberty Financial—after buying a large WLFI tranche and then being black-listed for sending $9 M of tokens to an exchange—shows how political DeFi has become.
#3 Rain Lohmus – US $886 million… and lost
The Estonian banker who co-founded LHV Bank bought 250 000 ETH in the 2014 ICO for roughly $75 k. He then misplaced the wallet seed. The coins sit on-chain, immovable, a permanent reminder that “not your keys” still means “not your coins” even for early believers.
#4 Vitalik Buterin – US $867 million
Ethereum’s co-founder holds mostly ETH, plus a museum of meme-coins (SHIB, ELON, et al.) that projects airdrop to his public address for free publicity. He has donated large chunks before; what remains still ranks him among the top living individuals on any chain.
#5 James Howells – US $838 million under a dump
The Welsh IT tech mined 8 000 BTC on a laptop in 2010. In 2013 he accidentally threw out the hard drive. Newport City Council has repeatedly refused his requests to excavate the landfill. The coins are spendable—just not by him.
#6 Stefan Thomas – US $734 million with two tries left
The German-born coder was paid 7 002 BTC in 2011 for making an explainer video. The password to his IronKey USB is forgotten; eight failed attempts are logged, two remain before the device self-erases. Each guess is literally worth billions.
#7 Clifton Collins – US $629 million seized… and unusable
An Irish grower who funneled drug profits into 6 000 BTC around 2012. After arrest, the paper key—hidden inside a fishing rod—was lost. The Irish state “owns” the coins but cannot move them; they remain unspendable in confiscated wallets.
#8 Owen Gunden – US $561 million (and falling)
Early Mt. Gox and Tradehill arbitrageur. After years of silence he recently shipped 1 800 BTC ($200 M) to Kraken, probably to cash. His rank drops as coins hit exchange hot-wallets.
#9 Mao Shihang (DiscusFish) – US $275 million
Founder of China’s first mining pool F2Pool and custody start-up Cobo. Holdings span BTC, ETH and assorted altcoins—earned from a decade of building the plumbing others trade on.
#10 Patricio Worthalter – US $226 million
The Argentine creator of POAP (Proof-of-Attendance Protocol) turned conference badges into an NFT standard. His wealth is diversified across ETH and governance tokens accrued while bootstrapping Web3’s “event layer.”
Alumni of the Top 10
James Fickel – 57 000 ETH ($203 M) after a $400 k bet in 2016; still holding despite a $43 M ETH/BTC spread trade gone wrong last year.
Stefan George – Gnosis co-founder, $106 M in GNO and Safe ecosystem tokens that power multisig infrastructure for half of DeFi.
Moral of the Ledger
The richest addresses on Earth are ghost towns for some and treasure islands for others. Satoshi’s silence, Lohmus’s lapse, Howells’s garbage—each entry is a case study in asymmetric upside and single-point-of-failure downside. In crypto you can be a billionaire at breakfast and a cautionary tale by dinner; the only thing more valuable than the private key is the backup of the private key.
The Whale Who Was Up $100 M: Why I’m Leaving HyperLiquid
Protocol Survived, Users Didn’t I just made a personal—and painful—decision: I will no longer trade on HyperLiquid. I’m not calling for a boycott; I’m simply following the drift of my own values. After clearing $95 M on HL—and crossing nine figures across venues—my P&L is still positive this year. But on 10 October I lost $62 M in a single liquidation cascade. That day showed me the industry has out-grown its “hope and prayer” risk architecture.What Actually Happened on 10·10Binance’s interna...
From Meta to Blockchain Rising Stars: The Rise of Sui and Aptos
In recent years, the cryptocurrency market has experienced explosive growth. The success of mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum has attracted widespread attention from global investors. Emerging projects continue to emerge, offering a variety of investment opportunities. Investors are attracted by their high potential for returns, while also being aware of the market's high volatility and risks. Sui and Aptos are two blockchain projects that have recently garnered significan...
When the “Infinite-Ammo” mNAV Flywheel Reverses: Hidden Sell-Side Risks in the Crypto-Treasury Narra…
Executive Summary Treasury-driven alt-coins have turbo-charged this bull run. Ethereum has risen from US$1 800 to US$4 700 (+160 %) as listed “mini-MSTRs” like SBET and BMNR relentlessly buy ETH. Solana, BNB and HYPE have spawned copy-cat treasuries of their own. But the same flywheel that lifts prices can spin backwards. WINT—once a BNB-treasury poster-child—was delisted by Nasdaq and fell 91 %. Lion Group just trimmed US$500 k of its own HYPE stack. If mNAV (market-to-NAV ratio) drops below...
The Whale Who Was Up $100 M: Why I’m Leaving HyperLiquid
Protocol Survived, Users Didn’t I just made a personal—and painful—decision: I will no longer trade on HyperLiquid. I’m not calling for a boycott; I’m simply following the drift of my own values. After clearing $95 M on HL—and crossing nine figures across venues—my P&L is still positive this year. But on 10 October I lost $62 M in a single liquidation cascade. That day showed me the industry has out-grown its “hope and prayer” risk architecture.What Actually Happened on 10·10Binance’s interna...
From Meta to Blockchain Rising Stars: The Rise of Sui and Aptos
In recent years, the cryptocurrency market has experienced explosive growth. The success of mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum has attracted widespread attention from global investors. Emerging projects continue to emerge, offering a variety of investment opportunities. Investors are attracted by their high potential for returns, while also being aware of the market's high volatility and risks. Sui and Aptos are two blockchain projects that have recently garnered significan...
When the “Infinite-Ammo” mNAV Flywheel Reverses: Hidden Sell-Side Risks in the Crypto-Treasury Narra…
Executive Summary Treasury-driven alt-coins have turbo-charged this bull run. Ethereum has risen from US$1 800 to US$4 700 (+160 %) as listed “mini-MSTRs” like SBET and BMNR relentlessly buy ETH. Solana, BNB and HYPE have spawned copy-cat treasuries of their own. But the same flywheel that lifts prices can spin backwards. WINT—once a BNB-treasury poster-child—was delisted by Nasdaq and fell 91 %. Lion Group just trimmed US$500 k of its own HYPE stack. If mNAV (market-to-NAV ratio) drops below...
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The On-Chain Rich List: Satoshi’s $115 B and the Private-Key Ghosts
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The On-Chain Rich List: Satoshi’s $115 B and the Private-Key Ghosts
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