United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) have hit a new milestone as their total Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have flipped those held by the cryptocurrency’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Following the historic launch of spot Bitcoin ETF trading in the US in January, the ETFs have, for the first time, surpassed 1.1 million BTC, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X on Dec. 6, citing market watcher Shaun Edmondson.
“The US spot ETFs have just passed Satoshi in total bitcoin held, now hold more than 1.1m, more than anyone in the world, and they're not even a year old yet, literally babies still. Mind blowing,” Balchunas said.
Data from Bitcoin ETF observer HODL15Capital confirms Edmondson’s insights, indicating that spot Bitcoin ETFs held as much as 1,103,965 BTC as of Dec. 5.
How much Bitcoin does Satoshi hold?
Satoshi Nakamoto is the psuedononymous creator of Bitcoin, who initiated the first BTC transaction back in January 2009.
Apart from creating Bitcoin, Nakamoto is known as one of the largest holders of the cryptocurrency, with analysts estimating there is around 1.1 million BTC in Nakamoto-associated addresses, or 5.2% of Bitcoin’s total 21 million coin supply.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs passed Satoshi Nakamoto in total BTC held. Source: Eric Balchunas
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According to data cited by Balchunas, the current combined Bitcoin holdings by US spot Bitcoin ETFs now exceed those by the global crypto exchange Binance by 42%. They also now hold 63% more Bitcoin than is held by MicroStrategy, one of the largest corporate holders of BTC.
Mike Novogratz says Nakamoto is no longer alive
While some crypto investigators like HBO have been trying to de-anonymize Nakamoto’s identity for years, some believe that the mysterious Bitcoin creator is no longer alive.
Mike Novogratz, CEO of the crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital — which also operates a spot Bitcoin ETF — expressed confidence that Nakamoto isn’t alive in a CNBC interview on Dec. 5.
Mike Novogratz said he doesn’t think Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto is alive amid BTC breaking $100,000 for the first time. Source: CNBC
“If Satoshi was alive — cause I don’t think he is — I’m sure that he’d have a big smile on his face,” Novogratz said, referring to Bitcoin breaking past $100,000 for the first time on Dec. 5.
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