Bitcoin surge has seen the number of crypto millionaires double

By Louis Goss

The number of crypto millionaires has almost doubled over the past 12 months on the back of a surge in the value of the world's top cryptocurrencies, new research shows.

There are now 172,300 individuals worldwide who own more than $1 million worth of crypto assets, in what marks a 95% increase in the year ending on July 1 2024, the analysis by migration consultancy Henley & Partners shows.

Top cryptocurrencies including bitcoin (BTCUSD) and Ethereum (ETHUSD) have seen their prices surge over previous year following the launch of various crypto exchange traded funds on major markets worldwide.

The recent crypto boom has, in turn, helped drive a sharp 79% increase in the number of individuals with more than $100 million worth of crypto assets, to a total of 325 individuals.

The 2024 crypto has also led to a 27% increase in the number of crypto billionaires, according to the research which shows there are now 28 people worldwide who are holding more than $1 billion worth of crypto assets.

Bitcoin millionaires account for almost half of all individuals with more than $1 million worth of crypto assets, according to Henley & Partners' research, which showed the number of individuals with over $1 million of bitcoin holdings alone increased by 111% to 85,400 year-on-year.

The total number of Bitcoin billionaires - who own more than $1 billion worth of the world's first cryptocurrency - has also increased by 83% over the previous 12 months to a total of 11 individuals worldwide, the research shows.

The individual behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto - which is used by the inventor of the bitcoin cryptocurrency - is currently believed to be the largest individual bitcoin holder in the world, with holdings worth almost $50 billion at current prices, research from Arkham Intelligence shows.

The Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who previously sued Meta Platforms (META) founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly copying the idea for Facebook, reportedly own combined holdings of around 70,000 Bitcoins, worth around $3.3 billion at current prices, according to Forbes.

SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert is also believed to own billions worth of cryptocurrencies after he bought a major stockpile of 48,000 bitcoins in 2014 through a U.S. government auction of coins seized from illegal darknet market Silk Road, according to Reuters.

In an interview with Bloomberg in August, MicroStrategy (MSTR) co-founder Michael Saylor revealed that he personally owns more than $1 billion worth bitcoin, having first piled into the cryptocurrency in 2020 at prices averaging $9,882 and accumulated more bitcoin in the subsequent years.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume Binance, is reported to own around $39 billion worth of BNB tokens - the cryptocurrency used to make transactions on the Binance platform.

Zhao, who is also commonly referred to as CZ, saw the value of his BNB holdings almost double during the four-month period in which he was in jail in the U.S. after he was convicted of money laundering in April, Forbes reported.

-Louis Goss

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08-27-24 1008ET

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