The world’s largest crypto holdings are not controlled solely by institutions, but also by individuals whose assets can be directly traced through on-chain data. According to Arkham Intelligence’s report titled The Richest Crypto Holders, several individuals control crypto assets worth hundreds of millions to tens of billions of U.S. dollars.

This ranking is based entirely on on-chain data rather than estimates of wealth held outside the blockchain. In other words, only crypto assets that can be transparently tracked on public networks are included. Below are the five wealthiest crypto holders in the world as of 2025.

Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto ranks first as the world’s richest crypto holder, with on-chain assets estimated at between US$98 billion and US$115 billion. This entire fortune comes from Bitcoin mined during the 2009–2010 period and distributed across roughly 22,000 addresses.

To date, none of Satoshi’s Bitcoin has ever moved. Any potential activity from these addresses is widely expected to cause major disruption in global crypto markets. Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, this level of wealth would theoretically place Satoshi among the world’s top 20 richest individuals.

Justin Sun

Justin Sun holds second place with on-chain wealth estimated at approximately US$1.8–US$1.9 billion. He is best known as the founder of TRON and a key figure behind several major crypto projects, including BitTorrent.

Sun’s on-chain portfolio spans major assets such as TRX, Bitcoin, stETH, and various other tokens. Arkham notes that when off-chain assets are included, his total wealth is likely far greater than the verifiable on-chain figure. His wallet activity has frequently drawn attention, including his involvement in the controversial World Liberty Financial project.

Rain Lohmus

Rain Lohmus ranks third with on-chain wealth estimated at around US$775–US$886 million. He is an Estonian banker and one of Ethereum’s earliest investors through its 2014 ICO.

Lohmus is known to own approximately 250,000 ETH, acquired from an early investment worth about US$75,000. However, these assets are completely inaccessible due to the loss of his wallet’s private key. While the funds still exist on the blockchain, they remain permanently locked. Lohmus’s case is often cited as an extreme example of the risks associated with self-custody in crypto.

Vitalik Buterin

Vitalik Buterin ranks fourth with on-chain wealth estimated between US$750 million and US$870 million. The majority of his assets come from ETH allocated at the launch of Ethereum in 2015.

Beyond being a co-founder of Ethereum, Buterin is also known for frequently receiving unsolicited token transfers from various projects, particularly memecoins. Nonetheless, ETH remains the dominant component of his holdings, underscoring Ethereum’s central role as a core infrastructure of the global Web3 ecosystem.

James Howells

James Howells completes the top five with on-chain wealth estimated at around US$720–US$838 million. He is an early Bitcoin miner who accumulated roughly 8,000 BTC in 2010 using his personal laptop.

In 2013, Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive containing the private keys to those Bitcoins. The device is believed to be buried in a landfill in Wales. Despite multiple attempts to recover it, the assets remain inaccessible. Like Rain Lohmus’s case, Howells’s story serves as a stark reminder that crypto ownership ultimately depends on secure private key management.