Bitcoin ETFs on Pace to Hold More BTC Than Even Satoshi

By Mat Di Salvo

After months of accumulating billions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin, the successful Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that launched this year are set to soon collectively hold more of the leading cryptocurrency than its mysterious, pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.

A chart posted on Twitter (aka X) on Monday by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shows that the 10 spot Bitcoin funds now trading on American stock exchanges now hold close to a million digital coins when tallied up.

While the figures in the graph are slightly off the current totals—Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF has been bleeding digital coins as investors cash out this week and last, for example—it won’t be long before the funds collectively overtake the stash believed to be held by Bitcoin’s enigmatic creator.

Balchunas estimates that Bitcoin ETFs will collectively surpass the Satoshi sum of 1.1 million BTC in October, based on the current rate of accumulation, and that BlackRock's fund alone will eventually top the list of holders by late 2025.

Bitcoin’s founder (or founders) mined the first Bitcoin back in 2009 under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, and the real person or people behind the pseudonym have never been publicly identified. It isn’t known how much Bitcoin that Satoshi actually went on to mine, but it is widely believed that he went on to receive 1.1 million of the coins.

This theory—dubbed the Patoshi pattern—arose because a single miner using one machine was thought to be doing all the mining work in 2009, when the effort and energy required to mine Bitcoin was a lot lower than it is today. 

However, it’s worth noting that it is just a theory, and some analysts have since come out to dispute the thesis. If it is true, though, Satoshi would now hold some $67 billion dollars worth of the cryptocurrency at today’s prices. 

And the spot Bitcoin ETFs now aren’t far behind. The January launch of the Bitcoin ETFs was one of the most successful ETF launches in history. Billions of dollars have hit the funds as investors previously scared off from crypto investing finally got a safe and regulated way to buy Bitcoin.

As a result, top fund managers like BlackRock and Fidelity have loaded up on Bitcoin to hold on behalf of investors, while Grayscale converted its existing Bitcoin Fund (GBTC) to a spot ETF once the SEC approved such funds.

BlackRock has been the most successful fund to date, accumulating more Bitcoin than all the others as investors flock to its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). It leads the charge with the most coins, currently holding over 347,994 BTC. 

Top fund manager Grayscale isn’t far behind, with 232,542 BTC sitting in its trust. In total, the funds hold just under 900,000 BTC.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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