Bitcoin Distribution Map: Satoshi Nakamoto remains in first place, with the US and UK rising as major reserve countries through confiscation

Data platform Arkham announced the on-chain Bitcoin data analysis for 2026, revealing who holds the most Bitcoin (BTC) by tracking specific wallets. Currently, the largest holder remains the mysterious founder Satoshi Nakamoto, with Coinbase Exchange in second place, holding 993,000 Bitcoins, making it the exchange with the highest Bitcoin holdings; the United States and the United Kingdom have become the top reserve countries in the Bitcoin world by passive income from confiscated criminal assets.

Satoshi Nakamoto owns 1.09 million Bitcoins, making them the largest holder in the world today.

The biggest Bitcoin whale worldwide continues to be the mysterious founder Satoshi Nakamoto. He mined early on 22,000 blocks, estimated to hold about 1.096 million Bitcoins, worth approximately $75 billion. Although distributed across multiple addresses, they all conform to the specific Patoshi Pattern (Note: Bitcoins that appeared from the genesis block and have never been moved).

Who owns the most Bitcoin in 2026?

Following Satoshi Nakamoto are major institutions. Coinbase leads exchanges with 993,000 Bitcoins, accounting for about 5% of the total supply; BlackRock holds about 760,000 Bitcoins, representing 3.8%; Strategy holds 410,000 Bitcoins, accounting for 2.1%; the U.S. government holds about 320,000, making up 1.64%; Tether holds 96,000 Bitcoins, or 0.48%.

United States and United Kingdom acquire Bitcoin through confiscation of illegal assets, becoming the top Bitcoin reserve countries.

The U.S. and UK have gained “passive income” through judicial confiscation, making them the first and second largest Bitcoin reserve countries in the world. Their funds come from:

• Asset recovery from the Bitfinex hacker incident.
• Seizures from Silk Road dark web operations.
• James Zhong’s Silk Road hacker blackmail case.
• The LuBian mining pool related to the Prince Group case dismantled in 2025.

The UK holds 61,245 Bitcoins, ranking second globally. Most of these assets come from the case of “China’s Bitcoin scam queen” Qian Zhimin, with final judicial conviction and liquidation completed by the end of 2025.

The U.S. government holds 328,000 Bitcoins, making it the top Bitcoin country. Most of the U.S. Bitcoin holdings come from confiscations of criminal organizations, according to Arkham data, including assets seized from the Bitfinex hacker, Silk Road dark web, James Zhong’s hacking case, and the recent seizure of the Prince Group and related LuBian mining pool. The UK’s 61,245 Bitcoins also come from confiscated illegal assets, with 61,000 Bitcoins seized from China’s Bitcoin scam queen Qian Zhimin in 2018.

El Salvador, UAE, and Bhutan actively deploy Bitcoin reserves.

Compared to the U.S. and UK acquiring Bitcoin as “unexpected wealth,” the third, fourth, and fifth countries are proactively implementing Bitcoin reserve strategies.

El Salvador boldly adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, investing $108 million to purchase 2,546 Bitcoins. In November 2022, President Nayib Bukele announced that the country would buy one Bitcoin daily. Currently, El Salvador owns 7,500 Bitcoins, ranking third among Bitcoin countries.

The UAE, ranked fourth, aims to become a global cryptocurrency hub. As one of the Gulf countries, it holds 6,800 Bitcoins, sourced from Citadel’s Bitcoin mining operations.

Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin since 2019. In May 2023, Bhutan’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, Druk Holding and Investments, announced a $500 million partnership with Bitdeer to expand Bitcoin mining. Bhutan’s unique geographical advantage includes numerous hydroelectric plants built along glacial rivers. By utilizing abundant and cheap hydroelectric power for Bitcoin mining, the country invests the profits into national development. Bhutan currently owns 5,600 Bitcoins, ranking fifth among Bitcoin nations.

This article, “Bitcoin Distribution Map: Satoshi Nakamoto Remains the Top, US and UK Rise as Reserve Countries through Confiscation,” originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.