With the popularity of digital assets and cryptocurrency, there are many bitcoin millionaires today, just as there are others who have become millionaires from other cryptocurrencies. When it first began, Bitcoin sold for as little as $0.20 apiece but as time went on, the value continued to rise as it kept on attracting more people. In its best days, the coin rose to close to $20,000 in December 2017.
With the popularity of the cryptocurrency and the many people that have made fortune from it, it makes a lot of sense that people wonder and ask the big question as regards those who own the most bitcoin in the world as well as the top bitcoin millionaires and investors. Let’s find out.
Who owns the Most Bitcoin?
While there is a little confusion regarding the identity of who the Bitcoin Millionaires are, the general idea is that it has to be the shadowy inventor of the coin, Satoshi Nakamoto. In the early days of Bitcoin, it is alleged that Nakamoto made over a million bitcoins.
This amount of bitcoin was said to have been mined by Satoshi as far back as 2013 and so it is believed that it is even possible that he now has more bitcoins than that because apart from a block that has over 900,000 BTC valued at almost $4 billion, he also has more stashed across many wallets.
After the bitcoin finder, the FBI is believed to be the next in line to own the most bitcoin in the world. When it shut down Silk Road, the bureau confiscated 144,000 BTCÂ most of which it sold through auction. However, it still has so much more and has been said to own more than 1.5% of all the BTC in circulation.
Top 5 Bitcoin Millionaires and Investors
Most bitcoin millionaires and investors do not reveal what they really have, but here is a list of the top known 5:
1. Micree Zhan
He is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur who co-founded the largest computer chip company for cryptocurrency in the world, Bitmain. He started his company with Wu Jihan in 2013 which has grown into the biggest company of bitcoin mining with a revenue that is estimated at US$ 2.5 billion in 2017.
Owning 36% of the company he is regarded as one of the Bitcoin Millionaires with a fortune of around $5.42 billion.
2. Jihan Wu
Also a Chinese entrepreneur, Wu founded Bitmain with Zhan and has around 20% of the company. One of the biggest names in Bitcoin investment, he has a net worth that is estimated at $2.39 billion which he made from his investments in cryptocurrency.
3. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss
Popular as the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron are among the biggest Bitcoin Millionaires. The brothers have become famous for their interest in online business. They tried taking control of Facebook in the past but their effort was fruitless. They have also tried other online investments.
As regards BTC, the brothers have purchased $11 million worth of the coins in 2013. At the time, it was 1% of the total coins in the market. Currently, their investment in bitcoin could be worth $400 million.
4. Charlie Shrem
Shrem began investing in Bitcoin since 2011 when he was still in college as a senior. Although he would have the misfortune of losing his coins after the service he was using crashed, he later founded a company, BitInstant together with his friend Gareth Nelson. The company went out of business in 2014. Before then, he joined in starting Bitcoin Foundation which lasted until 2014, Intellisys Capital which lasted from 2016 to 2017, and then he founded CryptoIQ in 2017.
Although he spent a couple of years behind bars for his involvement in operating an unlicensed money transmitting company and has forfeited some of his wealth, he has a net worth of ‎$35 million and has thousands of bitcoin.
See Also: 10 Most Famous Female Entrepreneurs In The World and Their Success Stories
5. Tim Draper
Draper is one of the Bitcoin Millionaires who have done well to diversify properly. He has put his money in a lot of things including Twitter, Baidu, SpaceX, Coinbase, Twitch.TV, and many others. He has also become very popular for being a strong proponent of bitcoin. In 2013, he purchased close to 30,000 bitcoins at a US Marshals Service auction of Silk Road bitcoins that were seized. Although the price at which he bought the coins was not known, it was estimated at close to $19 million.
Back in 2014, he made the prediction that in three years, Bitcoin was going to go as high as $10,000 in value. By November 2017, BTC crossed the mark.
