Spot Bitcoin ETFs Hold more Bitcoin than Satoshi

Wall Street’s long-anticipated embrace of digital assets has shifted from a rallying cry of Bitcoin enthusiasts to a resounding reality. The notion that suit-clad investors would inevitably reshape the cryptocurrency landscape was once a bold prediction. On Thursday, it became an undeniable fact: spot Bitcoin ETFs officially surpassed the holdings of Bitcoin’s enigmatic creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

As of Thursday’s close, spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively held an impressive 1,105,690 Bitcoin, valued at $110 billion, according to CoinGlass. These funds, issued by 10 U.S. asset managers since their debut on January 11, have grown rapidly in size and influence—Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust being the only notable outlier.

Source: BNC Bitcoin Liquid Index

Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million Bitcoin holdings, accumulated during Bitcoin’s early mining days, have always loomed large as a symbol of crypto’s origins. That the collective holdings of ETFs—a product of the very financial intermediaries Bitcoin was designed to bypass—have now surpassed Nakamoto’s is a striking milestone. It signals not just the market’s growth but also its evolving relationship with traditional finance.

Bloomberg ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas described the development as “mind-blowing” on X noting that these ETFs are “literal babies” in the financial world. Yet, in less than a year, they’ve grown to rival and now exceed the holdings of Bitcoin’s mysterious founder. Balchunas, who had earlier predicted the milestone would occur by Christmas, attributed the accelerated timeline to surging Bitcoin prices and record-breaking ETF inflows.

Source: X

Since Monday alone, these ETFs have attracted $2.4 billion in new investments, fueled in part by Bitcoin’s meteoric rise past $100,000 on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency, which started the year at just over $44,000, has now climbed more than 120%, repeatedly setting new price records throughout November before reaching $101,000.

It’s a poetic twist in Bitcoin’s history. Nakamoto, who disappeared from public view in 2011, envisioned Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, free from the influence of financial gatekeepers. Yet, the very intermediaries Bitcoin sought to disrupt—Wall Street’s powerhouses—have played a pivotal role in Thursday’s milestone and Bitcoin’s value surge throughout the year.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, leads the charge with its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), holding a staggering 521,000 Bitcoin worth $50 billion. This dominance highlights how the institutional adoption of Bitcoin has gone from speculative to strategic. For many investors, gaining exposure to Bitcoin is now as straightforward as investing in an S&P 500 index fund.

Thursday’s milestone represents more than just a numbers game. It underscores Bitcoin’s journey from its cypherpunk origins to its integration into mainstream finance. With the pseudonymous Nakamoto’s holdings now eclipsed, Bitcoin is entering a new era—one where it’s not just a digital revolution but also a cornerstone of Wall Street’s future. As the cryptocurrency becomes further enmeshed in the fabric of global finance, the question isn’t whether institutions will dominate this space but how far they’ll take it.