US Bitcoin ETFs on Track to Overtake Satoshi’s BTC Fortune
US Bitcoin ETFs are on track to surpass Satoshi Nakamoto’s BTC holdings, adding 37,510 BTC per month.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US are amassing a massive amount of Bitcoin that could soon surpass the amount held by the anonymous Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to Bloomberg ETF expert Eric Balchunas, the Bitcoin ETFs holdings have reached 909,700 BTC, worth about $55.1 billion (at $60,500/BTC). This is close to the estimated 1.1 million BTC fortune of Bitcoin’s creator. Nakamoto created Bitcoin and disappeared for more than 13 years.
At a rate of 37,510 BTC per month, ETFs could surpass Nakamoto’s Bitcoin holdings as early as October, even though they’ve only been trading for less than a year. Balchunas also predicts:
“BlackRock will become the largest Bitcoin holder by the end of next year and will likely hold that position for a long time.”
According to another study, Nakamoto's Bitcoin fortune is only about 600,000 BTC, scattered across 20,000 different wallets. However, no one can give an exact figure for Satoshi's Bitcoin amount or his identity. Nakamoto often uses new wallets to receive the 50 BTC reward for each block mined from the first days.
Since January 2024, 11 Bitcoin ETFs have received net inflows of up to $17.35 billion, including $19.49 billion in outflows from Grayscale's ETF. Of these, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has attracted the most inflows, reaching $20.33 billion in Bitcoin as of August 12. Next is Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which collected $9.72 billion, according to Farside Investors.
Another discovery shows that Goldman Sachs is holding 6,991,248 shares of IBIT (~$239 million), 1,516,302 shares of FBTC (~$79.55 million), 940,443 shares of Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (~$56.19 million), 660,183 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (~$35.15 million) and many other investments.
In addition, DRW Holdings, a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm, also owns more than $195 million in cryptocurrency ETFs, including more than $150 million in Grayscale ETH ETF (ETHE). This is the first time DRW has invested in ETH-related products, and ETHE has become the company's third-largest investment, behind funds tracking the S&P 500 index and gold.
