I've long wondered: Who actually holds all the Bitcoins? Governments? Big tech corporations? Or still small investors like you and me? The matter is actually more exciting than you think. The maximum amount is strictly limited to 21 million – this is mathematically embedded in the code. But when you look at how many are actually in circulation and who owns them, it gets really interesting.

First, the hard facts: Of the 21 million, about 5 million are practically gone. Lost. Either because early miners forgot their private keys (like that British programmer who threw away 8,000 BTC) or because they were transferred to invalid addresses. Then there are these huge amounts that haven't been touched since 2009-2011. That greatly increases the real scarcity.

Now it gets political: Governments have started collecting Bitcoin. Mainly the USA with nearly 200,000 BTC from seizures. El Salvador has even made Bitcoin an official currency. Overall, governments worldwide hold about 517,000 BTC – which is only a small part of the 21 million, but symbolically significant.

Then the institutions. Publicly traded companies hold over 1 million BTC. MicroStrategy leads the field with 638,460 BTC – their CEO has become a virtual Bitcoin prophet. And then there are the ETFs: Since 2024, Wall Street is pouring in massively. The ETFs now control 1.49 million BTC. Experts expect that by 2030, over 5 million BTC could be in ETF hands.

The exchanges themselves hold about 2.18 million BTC. Interestingly, this is the lowest level in nearly 5 years. A large exchange like Coinbase has 690,718 BTC, while other established platforms hold similar amounts.

Miners are also important – they are constantly producing new Bitcoin. Marathon Digital, Hut 8 Mining, Riot Platforms – together they publicly hold about 118,000 BTC. But no one knows exactly how much they really have in cold storage.

And then there are the whales. Satoshi Nakamoto himself is said to have over 1 million BTC – untouched since the beginning. The top 100 addresses control around 4 million BTC together. When these whales move, the market trembles.

But here’s the most important part: When counting wallet addresses, small investors with less than 1,000 BTC together hold 61% of all Bitcoin. This is the decentralized power that actually makes Bitcoin. Millions of ordinary people worldwide who invest regularly and embody Bitcoin’s true vision.

In China, 8 publicly listed companies hold 13,154 BTC. Hong Kong has 9 companies with 5,130 BTC.

What do we learn from this? The 21 million are simultaneously distributed and concentrated. A decentralized value network is forming, but at the same time new power centers are emerging among governments, institutions, and whales. It’s a fight over scarcity and financial influence. And with each passing year, more countries and institutions will join – the distribution will change drastically.

My conviction: Even if you only hold 0.1 BTC today, it could be an extremely scarce asset in the future. Bitcoin is becoming more and more 'locked in,' and the market structure is increasingly dependent on institutions. This supports long-term value but also entails higher risks. The 21 million will become scarcer, that’s certain. And those who are in now will benefit from it.