Bitcoin Surge Pushes Satoshi Nakamoto to 11th Richest Globally

Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has ascended to the 11th position on the global richest individuals list following Bitcoin's surge to $120,000 on Sunday. Nakamoto is estimated to possess 1.096 million Bitcoin (BTC) distributed across numerous wallets, valued at over $131 billion at current market prices, according to blockchain analytics company Arkham. This valuation theoretically places Nakamoto ahead of Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies, who has a net worth of $125.1 billion. However, it is important to note that Forbes’ billionaires list does not consider crypto wallet holdings when evaluating billionaires; instead, it tracks individuals’ publicly verifiable holdings, such as stocks.

Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of just over $120,000 on Monday, as indicated by Nansen data. However, this price level is still insufficient for Nakamoto to secure the top spot on the Forbes billionaire list. Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, currently holds the top position with a net worth exceeding $404 billion. Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, is second with an estimated fortune of $274 billion, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg rounds out the top three with the same net worth.

For Nakamoto to claim the top spot, Bitcoin would need to surge by an additional 208% to reach $370,000, assuming the net worths of other billionaires remain unchanged. Analysts have made various predictions about Bitcoin's future price movements. In a June post on X, Eric Balchunas predicted that Nakamoto could become at least the second-richest billionaire by the end of 2026 if Bitcoin continues its "normal 50%/ann" growth pattern. Balchunas noted that Nakamoto's decision to not cash in on his holdings echoes the legacy of Jack Bogle, the founder of The Vanguard Group, who passed away in 2019 with a reported net worth of $80 million.

Other analysts have also weighed in on Bitcoin's potential price trajectory. The head of 10x Research suggested there is a 60% chance for Bitcoin to register a 20% gain in the next two months, reaching $133,000 by September. In May, Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise, predicted that Bitcoin could hit $200,000 by the end of 2025, driven by a supply shock from surging institutional demand. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, forecasted that Bitcoin would reach $250,000 by the end of the year.

Nakamoto's holdings significantly outpace those of other Bitcoin whales. Corporations and custodians collectively hold 847,000 Bitcoin, or 4% of the total capped supply, according to BiTBO. A small group of individuals also possesses a substantial amount of Bitcoin. The Winklevoss twins, founders of crypto exchange Gemini, are estimated to hold about 70,000 Bitcoin. Venture capitalist and early Bitcoin backer Tim Draper holds around 30,000 Bitcoin, which he acquired at a 2014 US Marshals auction. Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, has a private stash of approximately 17,732 Bitcoin outside of his company’s holdings.