BlackRock ranks ahead of Michael Saylor's Strategy among the largest Bitcoin-holding entities in 2026 according to Arkham Intelligence data, even though Strategy reports a total treasury balance of about 847,000 BTC. Arkham's entity-based ranking places BlackRock third with about 764,000 BTC, while Strategy's directly attributed holdings appear lower because approximately 184,000 BTC is held through Fidelity Custody rather than Strategy's on-chain entity profile. The distinction reflects growing institutionalization of Bitcoin through exchange-traded fund structures and custodial arrangements following the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024.
BlackRock Ranks Ahead of Strategy in Arkham Entity Data
Arkham said Strategy has total Bitcoin holdings of about 847,000 BTC, worth roughly $56 billion, making it the top public company Bitcoin holder. The report noted that Arkham has identified and verified about 83% of Strategy's on-chain Bitcoin, while about 184,000 BTC is held through Fidelity Custody.
That custodial split affects how Strategy appears in Arkham's entity ranking. Under that method, BlackRock's 764,000 BTC places it above Strategy's directly attributed holdings, even though Strategy's total Bitcoin treasury remains larger than BlackRock's reported balance.
BlackRock's Bitcoin position is tied mainly to spot Bitcoin ETF activity. The firm has become one of the largest Bitcoin custodial and asset-management-linked entities following the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024.
The distinction between beneficial ownership and custody remains important. BlackRock's Bitcoin is largely held for ETF investors, while Strategy's holdings represent a corporate treasury strategy. Exchange balances, ETF holdings, and custodied company assets can therefore appear differently depending on whether the wallet, entity, owner, or custodian views the data.
Satoshi Nakamoto and Coinbase Lead Bitcoin Holder List
Satoshi Nakamoto remains the largest known Bitcoin holder in Arkham's entity-based data, with about 1.096 million BTC. Arkham links the holdings to the Patoshi Pattern, a known early mining pattern associated with Bitcoin's creator, and says the coins were acquired through mining about 22,000 blocks.
Coinbase ranks as the second-largest Bitcoin-holding entity with about 970,000 BTC, or around 5% of the total supply. These holdings include customer assets held in custody, institutional balances, operating liquidity, and crypto assets the company may hold for its own purposes.
Binance is also among the largest Bitcoin-related entities, with about 670,000 BTC, while some of the largest individual Bitcoin wallets are exchange cold wallets. Arkham listed a Binance cold wallet with about 249,000 BTC as the largest individual Bitcoin address, followed by another Binance cold wallet with about 175,000 BTC.
Robinhood and Bitfinex also operate large cold wallets, while Tether's Bitcoin reserve wallet holds about 97,000 BTC. These individual wallets do not always represent direct ownership by the exchange or company, because many large wallets hold assets on behalf of customers or fund investors.
Governments, ETFs and Companies Hold Large BTC Balances
Governments also remain among major Bitcoin holders, largely through asset seizures. Arkham data lists the United States government with about 328,000 BTC, including Bitcoin recovered from the Bitfinex hack, Silk Road-related seizures, and other law-enforcement actions.
The United Kingdom government holds about 61,000 BTC, while El Salvador holds about 7,100 BTC. The UAE Royal Group, through Citadel Mining, is listed with about 6,800 BTC, and Bhutan's Druk Holdings holds about 2,000 BTC after reducing its balance from earlier levels.
Private companies also hold large Bitcoin positions. Tether is listed with about 97,000 BTC in verified on-chain reserves, while Block.One is reported by Bitcoin Treasuries as holding about 164,000 BTC, though Arkham said those holdings are not fully verified on-chain.
The 2026 holder data also shows growing institutionalization of Bitcoin through ETFs, exchanges, corporate treasuries, and government custody. An on-chain analyst concurrently shows wallets holding more than 1 BTC now control more than 16.8 million BTC, while retail holders are estimated to hold about 1.7 million BTC.
FAQ
Why does BlackRock rank ahead of Strategy in Arkham's entity data?
BlackRock ranks ahead of Strategy in Arkham Intelligence's entity-based ranking because approximately 184,000 BTC of Strategy's total treasury is held through Fidelity Custody rather than attributed to Strategy's on-chain entity profile. This custodial split places BlackRock's 764,000 BTC above Strategy's directly attributed holdings in the entity view, even though Strategy's total Bitcoin treasury of about 847,000 BTC remains larger than BlackRock's reported balance.
Who are the largest Bitcoin holders according to Arkham Intelligence data in 2026?
Satoshi Nakamoto is the largest known Bitcoin holder with about 1.096 million BTC, followed by Coinbase with about 970,000 BTC (around 5% of total supply), and BlackRock with about 764,000 BTC held through Bitcoin exchange-traded fund products and related custody structures. Strategy holds about 847,000 BTC in total treasury, making it the top public company Bitcoin holder, while Binance holds about 670,000 BTC and the United States government holds about 328,000 BTC through asset seizures.
