On May 8, Arkham released its latest report listing the top 10 most wealthy, trackable individual cryptocurrency holders on-chain in 2026. Based on public on-chain data to estimate net worth, the wealth of those at the top primarily comes from early holdings of Bitcoin or Ethereum, with Satoshi Nakamoto still ranking first by an overwhelming margin.
First place: Satoshi Nakamoto, approximately $89 billion. The anonymous creator of Bitcoin remains the undisputed wealthiest on-chain holder. Their wealth entirely comes from Bitcoins mined between 2009 and 2010, distributed across approximately 22,000 addresses. This fortune places them in the top 25 of the global rich list.
Justin Sun, founder of TRON, approximately $1.5 billion. His addresses hold large amounts of TRX (1.8 billion coins, approximately $610 million), stETH, BTC, and other assets.
James Howells, a "tragic figure" who lost his keys, approximately $650 million. He is a Welsh IT worker who mined about 8,000 BTC using a laptop in 2010. In 2013, he accidentally threw away the hard drive containing the private keys, which is currently buried in a landfill and irretrievable.
Estonian banker Rain Lohmus, approximately $589 million. He participated in the ETH ICO in 2014 with $75,000 and received 250,000 ETH. Because he lost the private keys, these assets are visible but inaccessible.
Early Bitcoin developer Stefan Thomas, approximately $569 million. He received 7,002 BTC for making a Bitcoin introductory video. The private keys are stored on an IronKey hardware wallet, but the paper with the password was lost. He currently only has two attempts left, or the data will be permanently erased.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, approximately $533 million. His wealth mainly comes from the ETH allocated at genesis. He also frequently receives large amounts of tokens airdropped from meme coin projects.
Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins, approximately $447 million. He acquired 6,000 BTC at a price of about $5/BTC between 2011 and 2012. The private keys, hidden in a fishing rod, were lost, and he was later arrested. In March 2026, one of the wallets suddenly became active, and the police recovered about $35 million in BTC.
DiscusFish (Shen Yu), co-founder and CEO of Cobo, approximately $213 million. His addresses primarily hold BTC.
Patricio Worthalter, founder of POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol), approximately $149 million, primarily holding ETH and related assets.
Well-known trader James Fickel, approximately $115 million. He bought ETH at a low price in 2016 and still holds about 49,000 ETH. He once lost $43 million on an ETH/BTC bet and is currently focused on a neuroscience fund.
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