Regardless of your opinion about bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), or cryptocurrencies in general, they are here and many people are making a lot of money with them. As with any new technological advancement, however, the rich and powerful gobble up as much as they can and use them to forward their own agendas. So, which large corporations managed to snatch up the most Bitcoin, and how much do they have? These are the 12 companies that hold the most Bitcoin today.
The technology and science behind Bitcoin are much too complicated for us to dive into here, but we assume that if you are reading this article, then you are at least familiar with cryptocurrency and its uses. What you may or may not be surprised to learn is that more than a few of the companies that hold so much Bitcoin have a history of fraud and dubious business practices.
For this list, we are only including the corporate holders of Bitcoin, not necessarily the biggest owners of Bitcoin. Because of the way the blockchain system works, the owners of Bitcoin are anonymous, but they can use companies to hold that currency for trade or investment. There might be individuals or non-profits that hold or own more Bitcoin than the corporations here, but there is no information on those individuals and no real way to verify how much they own or hold. All the data for this list comes from CoinGecko and is accurate as of the first quarter of 2024.
Keep in mind, of course, that these numbers can change at any time.
Why Are We Talking About This?
Nobody knows what the future of cryptocurrency holds, but it would be wise to keep an eye on it as the technology improves and more corporations increase the amount of digital assets that they own. If you are a Bitcoin investor, it would be helpful to know where most of it is held. Whatever your reason, information is often your best weapon and defense.
#12 Exodus
- Bitcoin held: 1,651
Exodus is a digital asset wallet company. It offers a handful of digital wallets to manage and safely store cryptocurrency and other digital assets. These include a wallet app for mobile devices, an option for desktop computers, a separate offering for hardware security, and a Web3 digital wallet.
Like most other cryptocurrency companies, Exodus offers a large library of educational tools to learn about digital assets, along with a rewards program that gives users small earnings in crypto.
#11 Nexon
- Bitcoin held: 1,717
Nexon is an online cryptocurrency trading platform. It allows users to buy, sell, borrow, and safely store their cryptocurrencies. All major cryptocurrencies are available on the platform
It boasts a cryptocurrency reward program and offers a generous sign-up bonus for new users.
#10 CleanSpark
- Bitcoin held: 2,575
CleanSpark is a Bitcoin mining company. It designs and develops the infrastructure and equipment needed to mine Bitcoin effectively. Bitcoin is one of the most energy-intensive activities and has already contributed significantly to greenhouse gasses, but CleanSpark has said that it is striving to invest in low-carbon energy like wind, nuclear, and solar power.
#9 Hive
- Bitcoin held: 2,567
Hive is an artificial intelligence and Bitcoin mining company. It exports mining and computing power to paying customers to mine Bitcoin on their own or implement new AI and Web3 applications. Hive does not offer any financial services, trading, or storage of Bitcoin.
#8 Riot
- Bitcoin held: 7,327
Riot Platforms owns and operates the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America, according to its website. Riot owns and operates mining facilities in Texas and Colorado and offers mining services to those who want to mine Bitcoin without setting up their own mining systems at home.
#7 Block
- Bitcoin held: 8,027
Block (NYSE:SQ) used to be called Square, Inc., and you are probably familiar with their point-of-purchase equipment like the square card processing toggle that attaches to smartphones. As of 2023, Block has over 56 million individual customers, four million business accounts, and processes over $228 billion every year. Block also owns Cash App. Recently, Block expanded into cryptocurrency by offering investments in Bitcoin, a decentralized Bitcoin financial ecosystem, and their Bitkey wallet service for Bitcoin management.
#6 Coinbase
- Bitcoin held: 9,181
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is among the most popular and recognizable cryptocurrency exchanges, and probably one of a couple that readers will recognize on this list. It is the largest digital asset exchange in the United States and offers over 250 different cryptocurrencies for users to buy and sell.
Coinbase offers Coinbase Pro, a professional trading platform for more experienced investors and active traders to invest in digital assets. It also has Coinbase Wallet, which allows Coinbase customers to store, manage, and safely access their owned digital assets. The Coinbase Card and Coinbase Earn are also attractive perks for newer investors and amateur traders who are looking to get started with cryptocurrencies.
Finally, Coinbase went remote-first in 2020 after closing its San Francisco office and now has no central location.
#5 Hut 8
- Bitcoin held: 9,366
Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) is yet another cryptocurrency mining company. It sells high-performance computing capabilities, infrastructure, technology, and digital currency mining services. Hut 8 owns and operates eleven mining facilities throughout Canada, and it boasts that its locations are powered by hydro and nuclear energy. It has several other digital asset and corporate locations in Canada and the United States.
#4 Tesla
- Bitcoin held: 10,500
What an automobile manufacturer would be doing with so much Bitcoin is a mystery, and whether it should have any at all is an equally important question. Tesla (NYSE:TSLA) was founded in 2003 before being bought by Elon Musk and quickly became one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Tesla bought a significant amount of Bitcoin in 2021, purchasing over $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency in the early part of that year, and shortly after announced that it would begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles.
The company stopped this practice over concerns about Bitcoin’s environmental impact and how that stood in stark contrast against the eco-friendly mission of electric vehicles that Tesla says it supports. It subsequently sold significant amounts of Bitcoin but remains one of the largest holders of the coin.
#3 Marathon Digital Holding
- Bitcoin held: 13,716
Marathon (NASDAQ:MARA) is an online digital asset and cryptocurrency mining company located in Florida. It was founded in 2010 and was the parent company of Uniloc which faces lawsuits and accusations that it was a patent troll company. Marathon makes money by selling equipment and technology for mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency and blockchain activities.
#2 Galaxy
- Bitcoin held: 17,518
Galaxy is yet another Bitcoin mining company that helps other institutions mine and manage their cryptocurrency. According to the company information, it offers digital asset management, digital infrastructure, crypto trading, financial advisory, Bitcoin mining, and many more services to support cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. It is based in New York City.
#1 MicroStrategy
- Bitcoin held: 174,530
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) is a software company founded in 1989. It offers cloud-based business services and mobile software. Throughout its history, it has faced lawsuits in 2022 over allegations of tax evasion and fraud and SEC charges in 2000 over fraud. MicroStrategy began investing heavily in Bitcoin in 2020, when it purchased $250 million Bitcoin in August of that year and made several similarly large purchases shortly after. MicroStrategy is so heavily invested in Bitcoin that the company could see significant failure if the price of the cryptocurrency falls too much or too quickly, and it is motivated to see the price of Bitcoin continue to rise.
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