Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence claimed to have identified “98% of MicroStrategy’s on-chain holdings” — roughly 186,000 Bitcoin (BTC) out of the firm’s total 190,000 BTC in wallets.
In a Feb. 16 X post, Arkham said it added business intelligence firm MicroStrategy to its publicly available cryptocurrency wallet database. According to the firm, roughly 107,000 BTC of MicoStrategy’s crypto “appears to be held with Fidelity pooled with other clients’ BTC,” while 79,000 BTC was “held in segregated custody including Coinbase Prime.”
MICROSTRATEGY IS NOW ON ARKHAM
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) February 16, 2024
We believe we have identified 98% of Microstrategy’s on-chain holdings, totaling 186K BTC. Arkham is the first to publicly identify these addresses.
107K appears to be held with Fidelity pooled with other clients’ BTC, hence is included in our… pic.twitter.com/kapesz2b5C
Arkham’s research accounted for the overwhelming majority of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings — roughly $9.7 billion at the time of publication, with a BTC price of $52,000. The firm’s data on Fidelity Custody showed wallets totaling more than 174,000 BTC, with transactions from Coinbase, Foundry USA and Gemini. It’s unclear where the other 4,000 BTC controlled by MicroStrategy may be held.
MicroStrategy Executive Chair Michael Saylor announced on Feb. 7 that the firm had acquired 850 BTC in January, bringing the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 190,000. The company began buying Bitcoin in August 2020, announcing a $250 million crypto purchase as part of its push to adopt BTC as a reserve asset.
Related: MicroStrategy listing in the S&P 500 index could expose millions to Bitcoin
Arkham, a platform that said it aimed to “deanonymiz[e] the blockchain,” had previously offered bounties to crypto sleuths able to provide information leading to the identification of wallets held by high-profile individuals, including Terra co-founder Do Kwon. After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot BTC exchange-traded products in January, Arkham identified the on-chain locations of ETFs from BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton.
Many crypto users have criticized Arkham’s approach to making wallet addresses and their owners public, branding the firm as a “snitch-to-earn” service. Some wallet holders have been attacked after online sleuths were able to determine their physical address and other identifying information.
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