BlackRock is Set to Overtake Satoshi by 2026 as the Largest Bitcoin Holder
BlackRock is now the second-largest holder of Bitcoin in the world, with a staggering 700,439 BTC holdings. This astounding accumulation places the asset management behemoth within touching distance of surpassing Satoshi Nakamoto, who holds around 1.1 million BTC that still sits dormant since being mined during Bitcoin’s infancy.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out that BlackRock is already 62% towards matching Satoshi’s hoard. Through its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), it is said that BlackRock is purchasing roughly 40,000 BTC a month, which is 1,300 BTC a day. At this rate, by May 2026, the firm may have over 1.2 million BTC, making it the largest known holder of Bitcoin.
Importantly, this accumulation is not happening in a vacuum. The total assets under management of all U.S.-based Bitcoin ETFs have now surpassed 1.2 million BTC, making them the largest group of Bitcoin holders in the world. This trend regarding ETFs shows that investors prefer to have a regulated and safer custody arrangement for their Bitcoin rather than self-custody.
Other primary Bitcoin holders are MicroStrategy with 597,000 BTC, Binance with 591,894 BTC, and Grayscale with 229,418 BTC. Numerous other entities like the US and China governments along with Fidelity hold sizable reserves as well. Moreover, crypto exchanges such as Kraken, Bitfinex, Upbit, and Robinhood are also pretty substantial holders of Bitcoin.
The current change from person to institutional ownership of Bitcoin is increasingly disruptive. The transformation of Bitcoin from a means of self-determination and its absorption into the ecosystem of legacy finance and centralized systems illustrates its embracing by mainstream financial and regulatory systems. Nonetheless, the untouched coins of Satoshi serve as a rallying point for the argument about Bitcoin’s origins disentangled from the centralized reality of today.
Balchunas stated that IBIT’s growth pace is similar to that of a “two-year-old infant” gaining an edge in the crypto industry. Provided that accumulation continues at the current rate and Satoshi’s coins stay dormant, BlackRock is on pace to become Bitcoin’s largest holder within a year.
This marks the growing level of crypto and institutional finance convergence, a phenomenon likely to redefine how Bitcoin is distributed and its impact. Presently, Bitcoin is priced at $108,669, reflecting a 0.13% increase in the last day, which indicates investor confidence and institutional development.
