In 2009, one bitcoin was given less than $ 0.1. Since then, the cryptocurrency has significantly risen in price and now costs more than $ 6,500 per coin. Incredible growth over the past nine years has created many new millionaires. Here are a dozen of the largest holders of bitcoins in history.
1. Satoshi Nakamoto
Creator bitcoin, hiding behind the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, remains the largest holder of bitcoins. Currently, his fortune is estimated at 1.1 million coins - and consists entirely of bitcoins mined with the help of mining in the early days of the existence of crypto currency. At their current cost, it exceeds $ 6 billion. At the same time, Nakamoto never spent his bitcoins, converted them into ordinary currencies, and did not use them for any other purpose. If he decided to sell his savings, the cost of bitcoin would instantly collapse.
2. Bulgaria
Bulgaria has one of the largest "chests" with bitcoins. But how did this small European country become the owner of a crypto currency for a huge sum? The fact is that in May 2017 during the Bulgarian police arrested members of an organized criminal group and seized 213 519 BTC from them. This amount of cryptocurrency is enough to pay off a quarter of the country's national debt. According to the authorities, the criminals used their technical skills to interfere with the work of the tax system. As of July 2018, the value of virtual coins is estimated at more than $ 1.3 billion. The Bulgarian government does not disclose any further intentions with regard to coins.
3. BitFinex
BitFinex has one of the largest stocks of bitcoins in the world. At present, its accounts hold 163,133.38 BTC for a total cost of approximately $ 1 billion. It is believed that coins are stored in a cold purse to protect against cyber attacks, unauthorized access and other vulnerabilities that threaten systems connected to the Internet.
4. FBI
In the past, the FBI acted as one of the largest known owners of bitcoins. In September 2013, the bureau confiscated the Silk Road servers, the famous online drugstore, and seized 144,000 BTC owned by site owner Ross Ulbricht, known as Dread Pirate Roberts. Ulbricht admitted a critical negligence that allowed investigators to locate servers and link them to them. According to some estimates, since the site was founded in 2011 more than 9.5 million bitcoins have passed through it. Then the FBI sold most of the coins, but this case is worth mentioning, because at some point the bureau was the owner of a whole bitcoin-state. Most of the captured coins were acquired by Barry Zilbert.
5. The Winklevoss Brothers
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were among the first to become bitcoin-billionaires. They gained fame when they sued the general director of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, accusing him of stealing the idea. Zuckerberg turned to them for help in creating the site ConnectU, which later turned into Facebook.
Of the $ 65 million received as compensation, they spent 11 million to buy 1.5 million bitcoins in 2013. Then one bitcoin cost about $ 120. Since then, their investment has grown more than 200 times.
According to some reports, twins control 1% of all bitcoins in circulation. Their combined state is estimated at $ 400 million. The brothers founded Windex, financed several bitcoins and invested $ 1.5 million in BitInstant.
6. Gavin Andresen
Bitcoin is considered the brainchild of Satoshi Nakamoto, but it was Gavin Andresen who turned it into what the crypto currency is today. Periodically, there are suspicions that the legendary Satoshi Nakamoto is Gavin, but he denies this in every possible way. Andresen argues that for many years he closely communicated with the inventor of bitcoin. At the end of 2010, Nakamoto chose him as his successor. Gavin became the main developer of the code that underlies bitcoin and determines its viability. The Bitcoin Foundation once paid him more than 200 thousand dollars in bitcoins for his contribution to the development of the crypto currency. Andresen has already sold some of his cryptos.
7. Roger Ver
Roger Ver, also known as Bitcoin-Jesus, is one of the first crypto-billionaires. It is believed that he owns at least 100,000 BTC. A famous libertarian left college to focus on crypto-currency projects. Unlike other rich people who buy islands and planes, Ver wants to create their own libertarian country, where every person is the absolute owner of his own life and can do with it and his property whatever he wants. In 2014, he renounced his American citizenship and moved to a small island in the Caribbean.
8. Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is a venture capitalist and founder of the Digital Currency Group. He is one of the first bitcoin enthusiasts. According to some reports, in 2014, Zilbert purchased 48,000 BTC at an auction held by the Federal Marshals Service. Authorities confiscated the crypto currency from Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the site for drug trafficking and other illicit goods. Bitcoin was then worth $ 350, and $ 16.8 million invested by the tycoon turned into $ 288 million.
9. Charlie Shrem
Charlie Schrem, without a doubt, is one of the most controversial bitcoins of billionaires. He invested large sums in the crypto currency at the dawn of its existence. Shrem was an active member of the Bitcoin Foundation and founded BitInstant at the age of only 22 years. At the end of December 2014, he was found guilty of money laundering and received a two-year prison term. Coming out of confinement, he founded an start-up Intellisys Capital, which sells investment portfolios in block projects. The size of the Shröm crypto-currency state is not exactly known. According to some reports, he bought several thousand bitcoins, when their price did not exceed a couple of hundred dollars. Now they would be worth millions.
10. Tony Gallippi
The well-known business tycoon Tony Gallippi is considered one of the largest holders of the bitcoins. In May 2011, he founded BitPay, a popular payment service using bitcoins. By 2014, his daily turnover overcame a mark of 1 million dollars, and the number of employees exceeded 100 people. Bitpay also signed contracts with representatives of large businesses, including Microsoft, Dell, TigerDirect and Newegg.
Conclusion:By some estimates, one thousand of the largest addresses account for about 35% of all bitcoins in circulation. Many people control significant amounts of cryptocurrency, but prefer to remain anonymous.
Thank you all for attention!
