In the last 24 hours, Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million bitcoins have been valued between $99.7 billion and $100 billion. It’s widely accepted that Bitcoin’s creator likely mined over a million BTC from the network’s launch until late 2010. This impressive sum makes Nakamoto the 18th or 17th wealthiest person globally. The estimated value of $99.7 billion to $100 billion for Nakamoto’s bitcoin trove holds if BTC trades between $90.5K and $91.5K. Should bitcoin dip to $89,500, however, Nakamoto’s wealth lands at a cool $98.45 billion.
When this was posted to X at 5:23 a.m. on Thursday, Satoshi’s stash made the creator a centi-billionaire.
The Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List currently places Alice Walton, Walmart founder Sam Walton’s only daughter and an American heiress, as the 18th richest individual with $95.5 billion. Mukesh Ambani, an Indian business magnate, ranks just ahead with assets totaling $99.7 billion.
With BTC fluctuating between $90.9K and $91.5K over the past two hours, Nakamoto’s bitcoin holdings position him snugly between Walton and Ambani. At the very top of the wealth list is Tesla’s Elon Musk, boasting a net worth of $309.1 billion. For Nakamoto’s worth to exceed Musk’s, bitcoin would need to reach roughly $281,000 per coin. To overtake the third-richest, Jeff Bezos, with $230 billion in assets, BTC would need to climb to $209,091 per coin.
As bitcoin’s value climbs, so does the influence of its anonymous creator, if he, she or they are still alive. The cache always sparks curiosity about how Nakamoto’s vision aligns with modern wealth and power dynamics. While speculative markets and billionaire rankings shift, the impact of BTC and its enigmatic origins continues to ripple globally, subtly challenging the established definitions of wealth, influence, and financial sovereignty.
