A chart showing the 15 Bitcoin addresses with the highest balances

Author: Marcus Lu, Visual Capitalist; Compiler: Baishui, Golden Finance

A Bitcoin address is a unique identifier consisting of 26 to 62 alphanumeric characters used to receive Bitcoin.

These addresses are the destination of transactions on the Bitcoin network, ensuring that funds are sent to the correct recipient.

This chart ranks the 15 most valuable Bitcoin addresses in the world as of May 2024, according to BitInfoCharts' Bitcoin Rich List.

How Bitcoin Works

Bitcoin is considered the most valuable digital currency in the world.

Unlike fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, which are backed by central banks, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are backed by an underlying blockchain. This blockchain records every Bitcoin transaction in a distributed ledger.

Every time a Bitcoin is spent, the digital transaction record must be verified and added to the blockchain. Miners take on this task, legitimizing and auditing Bitcoin transactions while earning Bitcoin as a reward.

According to BitInfoCharts, the world's largest Bitcoin address dates back to October 2018 and had a balance of 0.1 BTC (worth $660 at the time).

Since then, it has experienced several huge fluctuations in value, reaching 180,000 BTC ($1.7 billion) in November 2019 and then falling to 1,370 BTC ($9.4 million) in April 2020.

Starting at the end of 2020, the address began to accumulate Bitcoin rapidly, reaching 300,000 BTC ($10.3 billion) in July 2021.

Since January 2023, its BTC balance has remained at around 248,597 BTC.