Top 10 On-chain Billionaires in 2026: Satoshi Nakamoto Still at the Top, Multiple Whale Private Keys Lost
BlockBeats News, May 8th – Arkham has released its latest report listing the top ten wealthiest on-chain cryptocurrency individual holders expected in 2026. Based on estimates of net worth from publicly available on-chain data, the leading individuals hold most of their wealth from early ownership of Bitcoin or Ethereum, with Satoshi Nakamoto remaining the overwhelming leader.
Satoshi Nakamoto leads with about $89 billion. The anonymous creator of Bitcoin is still the undisputed wealthiest on-chain holder. All of this wealth comes from Bitcoin mined between 2009 and 2010, spread across about 22,000 addresses. This fortune places Satoshi among the top 25 richest people worldwide.
Justin Sun, founder of TRON, holds about $1.5 billion. His addresses contain large amounts of TRX (1.8 billion TRX, about $610 million), stETH, BTC, and other assets.
The "tragic figure" James Howells, who lost his keys, holds about $650 million. Howells, a Welsh IT worker, mined about 8,000 BTC using his laptop in 2010. In 2013, he accidentally discarded the hard drive containing the private keys, which is now buried in a landfill and unrecoverable.
Estonian banker Rain Lohmus holds about $589 million. In 2014, he participated in the ETH ICO with $75,000, acquiring 250,000 ETH. Although these assets are visible, he cannot use them due to lost private keys.
Early Bitcoin developer Stefan Thomas holds about $569 million. He received 7,002 BTC for making a Bitcoin introduction video. The private key is stored on an IronKey hardware wallet, but the password paper has been lost, and only two attempts remain before the data will be permanently erased.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin holds about $533 million. His wealth mainly comes from ETH allocated at genesis. He also frequently receives large airdrops from meme coin projects.
Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins holds about $447 million. Between 2011 and 2012, he bought 6,000 BTC at about $5/BTC. The private key was hidden in a fishing rod and lost, and he was later arrested. In March 2026, one of his wallets was suddenly activated, and the police recovered about $35 million in BTC.
Cobo co-founder and CEO DiscusFish holds about $213 million, with his address mainly holding BTC.
POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) founder Patricio Worthalter holds about $149 million, mainly in ETH and related assets.
Well-known trader James Fickel holds about $115 million. He bought ETH at low prices in 2016 and still holds about 49,000 ETH. He once lost $43 million betting on ETH/BTC and is now focused on a neuroscience fund.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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