The ultimate scarcity of 21 million
The maximum total supply of Bitcoin is strictly limited to 21 million.
This is a mathematical law written in code.
Against the backdrop of endless fiat currency issuance worldwide, this number appears particularly precious.
But here comes the question:
These 21 million Bitcoins,
Who exactly is holding it now?
Is it institutions? Is it the government? Or is it retail investors like you and me?
Today, Yongqi will analyze this Bitcoin 'global holding ledger' using on-chain data and public information.
1. Bitcoins that will never return: Sleeping and Lost (about 25%)
First, it must be clarified that not all 21 million Bitcoins can circulate.
In fact, nearly 5 million BTC are considered to have 'disappeared'.
Early loss of private keys: Those BTC carelessly stored on hard drives and USBs before 2010 are mostly lost today, a famous case: UK programmer James Howells threw away a hard drive containing 8000 BTC as garbage.
Wrong transfers: some Bitcoins have been permanently sent to invalid addresses, equivalent to entering a 'black hole'.
Dormant coins: A large number of BTC mined from 2009 to 2011 are still untouched.
These dormant and lost Bitcoins add natural scarcity to the existing BTC.
II. National Sovereignty: Government Bitcoin Accounts (about 3%)
Bitcoin is no longer just 'private wealth'; it is entering the national strategic reserve ledger.
The total number of Bitcoins held by various governments is: 517296.
USA: has the world's largest government-level BTC reserves, mainly from law enforcement seizures. Just from the Silk Road case, over 70000 BTC were confiscated. The US government currently holds nearly 200,000 BTC.
El Salvador: the world's first country to make Bitcoin legal tender.
This means Bitcoin is becoming a new type of strategic reserve asset.
III. Corporate Ledgers: Publicly Traded Companies and Private Giants (about 5%)
Publicly traded companies have collectively held 1005881 BTC.
Based on the current BTC price of 113000 USD,
113000x1005881 BTC = 113.665 billion USD market value.
MicroStrategy: the world's largest publicly traded Bitcoin holding company, CEO Michael Saylor has become a 'preacher' of Bitcoin.
On September 7, with the BTC price at 111196 USD, continued to accumulate 1955 BTC.
Currently, total holdings have reached 638460, with an average holding price of 73880 USD.
IV. Bitcoin on Wall Street: ETFs, Trusts, and Funds (7%)
The current total number of BTC held by institutional ETFs is: 1490305.
According to predictive analysis, by 2030 the number of BTC held by ETFs will exceed 5 million.
Since the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF in 2024, Wall Street has officially entered the market.
This part of the chips is highly concentrated, becoming the largest price lever in the market.
V. Exchanges: Centralized Custodial Wallets (11%)
The balance of Bitcoin wallets of major global centralized exchanges.
So far, only 2.177 million BTC.
This data should be at its lowest level in the past 5 years.
The centralized exchange with the largest reserves is Coinbase: 690718.
The familiar Binance holds: 580836.
VI. Miners and Mining Companies: Producers of Bitcoin (about 0.6%)
Miners are the foundation of the Bitcoin network.
Their choices—selling or accumulating BTC—have a huge impact on market liquidity.
Marathon Digital: holds over 52477 BTC.
Hut 8 Mining: known for 'long-term accumulation', holds over 10677 BTC.
Riot Platforms: holds over 19309 BTC in reserves.
Mining companies holding Bitcoin currently publicly report holding: 118674 BTC.
What is publicly held is for tax purposes and to give investors an explanation, but how much real cold wallet holdings there are behind this is uncertain data, definitely far more than these tens of thousands.
During halving cycles, miner movements often become an important market barometer.
VII. Whale Wallets and Early Geeks (about 20%)
In the wealth map of Bitcoin, whales are an unavoidable existence.
Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet: estimated to hold over 1 million BTC, has not moved to this day.
Early miners: many became 'crypto billionaires' overnight.
Super whale wallets: The top 100 addresses on-chain often hold tens of thousands of BTC.
A total of about ~400 million BTC. The movements of these giants often determine the short-term fluctuations of the market.
Humpback: address holding over 10000 BTC.
Whale: address holding 1000 to 10000 BTC.
Shark: address holding 100–1000 BTC.
VIII. Global Retail Investors: The decentralized long-tail force (about 30%)
Lastly, the most important category: global retail investors.
If counted by wallet address:
Addresses holding less than 1000 BTC hold 61% of the total BTC.
More and more ordinary investors are beginning to participate in the Bitcoin network through regular investments.
Although individual accounts hold little, when aggregated, they become powerful.
This part of the population truly embodies Bitcoin's 'decentralized vision'.
IX. Currently, China has 8 publicly traded companies.
Publicly held BTC.
The number of BTC held by listed companies in China: 13154.
Hong Kong🇭🇰 has 9 publicly traded companies that hold a total of: 5130 BTC.
Conclusion: The game of scarcity and power.
21 million Bitcoins, both decentralized and centralized.
Distributed among global retail investors, it has built a decentralized value network.
But at the same time, it is also concentrated in the pockets of a few governments, institutions, and whales, forming a new power center.
This is a game about scarcity, financial power, and technological faith.
In the next decade, as more countries and institutions enter, the distribution pattern of Bitcoin will undergo drastic changes.
What can be confirmed is:
Even if you hold 0.1 BTC today, it could become an extremely scarce part of the entire map in the future.
Bitcoin is being 'locked up', and the market structure is increasingly reliant on institutions and ETFs.
This is both a support for long-term value and indicates higher systemic risk.
At any time in the future, you can believe a statement:
Hold one BTC, and you will definitely achieve financial freedom in the future!
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Lastly: Many viewpoints in this article represent my personal understanding and judgment of the market and do not constitute investment advice for you.