Ethereum (ETH) is held by millions of people worldwide, but a surprisingly large share of the supply sits with a few big players. Because Ethereum addresses are anonymous, pinpointing exactly who owns the most ETH is tricky.
However, by looking at on-chain data and known wallets, we can identify the biggest Ethereum holders in 2025 from massive exchange wallets and smart contracts to institutional funds and a handful of “Ethereum billionaires.”
In this article, we’ll break down who holds the most ETH, how the supply is distributed, and answer common questions about Ethereum ownership in 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Over 110M ETH addresses: More than 110 million unique addresses hold ETH, though many belong to the same individuals.
- Biggest holder is a contract: The Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Deposit Contract holds 68M ETH (56% of supply).
- Exchanges’ reserves: Coinbase, Binance, and other exchanges each hold 4-5M ETH for liquidity.
- Institutional entry: BlackRock’s Ethereum Trust (ETHA) owns 3M ETH; other funds like Grayscale also hold millions.
- Few known whales: Vitalik Buterin holds 250K ETH; a handful of early investors have six-figure balances.
- Ownership concentration: Top 10 addresses control 60% of ETH, mostly in staking and exchange wallets, while millions of small holders own smaller amounts.
10 Biggest Ethereum Holders
| Holder / Entity | ETH Held | % of Supply | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum 2.0 Beacon | 68M ETH | 50%+ | Main staking contract, validators’ deposits |
| Coinbase Exchange | 5.2M ETH | ~4.2% | Custodial + Coinbase Prime institutional service |
| Binance Exchange | 4.0M ETH | ~3.3% | Exchange reserves for trading/withdrawals |
| Bitfinex Exchange | 3.3M ETH | ~2.7% | Liquidity reserves for customers |
| BlackRock iShares | 3.0M+ ETH | 2–2.5% | Institutional fund holdings |
| Wrapped Ethereum | 2.3M ETH | ~2% | Smart contract backing WETH in DeFi |
| Base Layer-2 Bridge | 1.7M ETH | ~1.4% | ETH locked for bridging to Base L2 |
| Robinhood | 1.3M ETH | ~1.1% | Custody for retail investors |
| Upbit Exchange | 1.35M ETH | ~1.1% | Major Korean e xchange reserves |
| Grayscale Ethereum Trust | 1.1M ETH | ~0.9% | Established institutional trust |
Who are the biggest ETH holders in 2025? Below is a list of the top holders (by wallet/entity), along with how much Ethereum they hold. This list combines data from blockchain analysis and known wallet labels:
- Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Deposit Contract – 68 million ETH: The Ethereum staking contract is by far the largest ETH holder. As of September 2025, it had approximately 68 million ETH (more than half the total amount of ETH in circulation). This contract receives the 32 ETH deposits of validators who stake to keep the network secure. It is basically a reserve pool of staked ETH – not an individual or a corporation, but the protocol itself holding ETH on behalf of validators. This causes the staking contract of the network to become the largest whale of all.
- Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) Contract – 2.3 million ETH: The WETH smart contract is a contract that holds approximately 2.3 million ETH (approximately 2% of supply) in exchange for the same value Wrapped Ether in token form. DeFi deploys WETH in order to enable ETH to communicate with ERC-20 tokens. This is because the WETH contract is a virtual owner of these ETH when the tokens of the WETH are in circulation. It is among the biggest holders of Ethereum since a big portion of ETH is deposited in DeFi protocols.
- Coinbase Exchange – Approximately 5.2 million ETH is held by various entities, contributing to the overall landscape of ETH wallets. Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in the United States of America, holds an astronomical volume of Ethereum in its custodial wallets. As of 2025, approximately 5.16 million ETH (approximately 4.2% of the total supply) is stored in the wallets of Coinbase. This consists of coins that are retained on behalf of the customers of Coinbase and as a form of liquidity. Another 1.8 million ETH is in Coinbase Prime, an institutional custody service of Coinbase. The biggest non-contract ETH holders include large exchange wallets such as those of Coinbase.
- Binance Exchange – 4.0 million ETH: Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world by volume, and it is another significant holder of ETH. The wallets of Binance contain about 4.06 million ETH (~3.3% of supply). Similar to Coinbase, Binance stores ETH as a backup to allow customer trading and withdrawals.
- Bitfinex Exchange – 3.3 million ETH: Bitfinex, a longstanding crypto exchange, is also on the list of top ETH holders with roughly 3.28 million ETH (about 2.7% of supply) in its main Ethereum wallets. Bitfinex’s holding comes from being a major platform where people trade and hold crypto. (Exchanges have to keep significant ETH reserves to meet customer liquidity needs, which is why several exchanges appear among the biggest holders.)
- Ethereum Trust (ETHA) of BlackRock: A new one in 2025, the iShares Ethereum Trust is an exchange-traded product, and by August 2025, it had amassed in excess of 3 million ETH. This amounts to about 2 to 2.5 percent of the total ETH, and the BlackRock fund is among the largest individual holders. Basically, numerous investors had dumped their money into this fund, and the fund had then bought a massive pile of ETH as reserves. A custodian holds the ETH on behalf of the fund (so it looks like a single large wallet on-chain). This is an indication of institutional interest in Ethereum as an asset.
- Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) – approximately 1.1 million ETH: Grayscale Ethereum Trust is a more established institutional fund, which has around 1.13 million ETH under management on behalf of its investors. Though the Grayscale fund is smaller than the new BlackRock trust, it has long been a large ETH holder. It is yet another example of an ETF-like fund that contains a huge amount of Ethereum, in the present case more than one million ETH, which makes it one of the prominent names on the ETH rich list.
- Robinhood – 1.3 million ETH: Stock trading application Robinhood also operates crypto custody, and it has accumulated approximately 1.37 million ETH in its wallets (approximately 1.1% of supply). These coins are a joint total of those of users of Robinhood who have purchased ETH in the app. It is one of the largest crypto wallets, and the popularity of ETH among retail investors using the platform.
- Upbit Exchange – 1.35 million ETH: Upbit, a hero platform among crypto exchange platforms in South Korea, has approximately 1.35 million ETH (approximately 1.1 percent of the supply) in its wallets. Once more, this is primarily exchange reserves of user balances and trading.
- Base Layer-2 Bridge – 1.7 million ETH: Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 network, has a bridge contract that holds around 1.7 million ETH (about 1.4% of supply) as of 2025. When users move ETH from Ethereum to the Base network, that ETH gets locked in the bridge contract. This makes the Base bridge one of the largest Ethereum-holding addresses. It’s a reminder that with Ethereum’s growth, some of the biggest “holders” are actually blockchain contracts for things like bridges and staking.
Other large holders just outside the top 10 include OKX exchange (several wallets holding a few hundred thousand ETH each, and some early-investor addresses. Notably, an address from Ethereum’s 2014 pre-sale linked to investor Rain Lõhmus still holds 250,000 ETH though he lost access to its keys, meaning those coins are effectively out of circulation. We’ll discuss more about individual big holders later on.
| Day | Minimum Price | Average Price | Maximum Price |
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Top Institutional Ethereum ETF Investors
Traditional finance institutions and funds have started to accumulate Ethereum in a big way by 2025. These institutional holders often hold ETH on behalf of investors through ETFs, trusts, or funds. Here are the top institutional players investing in ETH, which include some of the top 20 Ethereum holders.
- BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA): Launched in 2025, this fund quickly became the largest institutional ETH holder. By mid-2025, it gathered around 3 million ETH in its custody. That’s roughly 2–3% of the ETH supply held in one fund. BlackRock’s huge inflows (nearly $10 billion by August 2025) into ETHA demonstrate the surging institutional demand for Ethereum exposure
- Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE): Grayscale’s trust is an over-the-counter product that has been holding ETH for investors since before ETFs were around. As of 2025, Grayscale’s trust manages about 1.13 million ETH. While its market share has been partly overtaken by newer ETFs, ETHE remains a significant long-term holder of Ethereum and contributes to the Ethereum treasury.
- Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH): Fidelity launched a private Ethereum fund in 2024, which attracted roughly $1.4 billion in inflows by 2025. This likely translates to several hundred thousand ETH held by Fidelity’s custodians. Fidelity’s involvement signals that big asset managers consider ETH a legitimate investment they’re buying and holding ETH for the long haul (often also staking it for yield).
- Other Ethereum ETFs/Trusts: In addition to BlackRock and Grayscale, several other firms will have Ethereum-based investment products by 2025, joining the ranks of the top Ethereum holders. For example, Bitwise shifted from a Bitcoin-only strategy to include Ethereum in its funds, even exploring staking with ETH holdings. In Canada, ETFs like the Purpose Ether ETF also hold substantial ETH (tens of thousands of ETH) for investors. Across all these funds, institutions collectively control millions of ETH. One report noted that major institutions and ETFs together held over 5 million ETH (about 4.4% of supply) by late 2025.
Top Publicly Traded Companies With the Largest Ethereum Holdings
It’s not just exchanges and funds some public companies themselves have started holding Ethereum as a treasury asset (much like how some companies hold Bitcoin). Here are the notable publicly traded companies that have amassed significant ETH holdings:
- Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR): Bitmine has taken the title of the largest corporate holder of Ethereum. As of mid-2025, Bitmine reported over 1.5 million ETH on its balance sheet. That staggering stash (worth many billions of dollars) is actively staked and earning rewards. Bitmine’s strategy is reminiscent of MicroStrategy’s with Bitcoin, but here it’s “ETH-first” the company positions itself around Ethereum, believing in ETH’s long-term value and using staking yields to generate income.
- SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET): This online gaming firm rapidly accumulated Ethereum in 2025. By August 2025, SharpLink disclosed around 740,000–800,000 ETH held in treasury. They were aggressively buying ETH weekly and staking it. SharpLink’s fast rise to a top ETH holder shows some companies are racing to build an ETH reserve and leverage it (they even reported weekly staking rewards to shareholders).
- Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN): Coinbase appears again, now as a public company with ETH on its own balance sheet. In its Q2 2025 filings, Coinbase reported holding 136,782 ETH as “crypto assets held for investment” (plus a smaller 11,195 ETH for operational needs). That’s about $300+ million worth of ETH they consider part of corporate treasury.
- Bit Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT): Bit Digital was originally a Bitcoin mining company, but in 2025 it pivoted strongly into Ethereum. By mid-2025 it accumulated roughly 120,000 ETH in its treasury. The company raised funds and purchased ETH, seeing Ethereum as “foundational” to its strategy (and even running validators to earn staking income). Bit Digital’s move shows even miners/traders are diversifying into ETH and treating it as a core holding.
- BTCS Inc. (NASDAQ: BTCS): BTCS is another public company focusing on blockchain tech, and it reported holding about 70,000 ETH in 2025. BTCS brands itself as an “Ethereum-first” company, actively involved in staking and even using ETH in DeFi for yield, significantly impacting the ETH wallets landscape. While 70k ETH is smaller than others above, it’s still a significant $300+ million position and underlines a trend: companies are building active ETH treasuries (not just cold storage, but deploying those ETH in staking/DeFi).
Ethereum Billionaires: The Few Known Individuals
Most Ethereum addresses are anonymous, so identifying individual holders is hard. However, a few individuals have publicly known or estimated ETH fortunes. These Ethereum billionaires (or near-billionaires) are typically early founders or investors in the project:
- Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum’s co-founder and the most recognizable figure in the community. Vitalik’s ETH holdings are estimated between 250,000 and 280,000 ETH At 2025 prices, that’s close to $1 billion worth of ETH. He has disclosed some of his main wallet addresses over time, which hold significant amounts of ETH. While Vitalik is extremely wealthy from Ethereum’s success, interestingly he’s not the absolute largest holder several exchange wallets and contracts dwarf any individual’s stash.
- Joseph Lubin: Another Ethereum co-founder and founder of ConsenSys, Joseph Lubin, is rumored to hold around 500,000 ETH in his Ethereum wallet. If true, that would make Lubin one of the richest individuals in ETH (over $1.2 billion worth). Lubin hasn’t confirmed the number, but he was a significant figure in Ethereum’s early development and likely accumulated a substantial amount of ETH at low cost.
- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss: The Winklevoss twins (famous from Facebook’s early story) got into crypto early and launched the Gemini exchange. As investors, the Winklevoss brothers reportedly control between 150,000 and 200,000 ETH, which contributes to their status among the top Ethereum holders. Additionally, their exchange Gemini holds over 360,000 ETH in reserve for its operations and customers. The twins have often spoken about Bitcoin, but they have also built a sizable Ethereum position over the years, making them notable ETH holders.
- Rain Lõhmus: Rain Lõhmus, co-founder of Estonia’s LHV Bank, might have been the single largest individual owner of ETH except he can’t access it, which affects his potential as a top Ethereum holder. He purchased 250,000 ETH in Ethereum’s 2014 initial coin offering (ICO). Unfortunately, he later lost the private keys to that wallet. Those quarter-million ETH are still sitting unspent on the blockchain (worth nearly $900 million), effectively out of circulation. Lõhmus’s case is an extreme example of lost crypto wealth; on paper he “owns” a huge amount of Ethereum, but in practice it’s gone unless the keys are recovered.
- Anthony Di Iorio: An early Ethereum team member and investor, Anthony Di Iorio is reported to hold between 50,000 and 100,000 ETH. He was one of the project’s co-founders and also founded Decentral and Jaxx Wallet. His Ethereum holdings (worth in the hundreds of millions) place him among the top individual ETH owners, even if he’s behind the likes of Vitalik or Lubin.
The Ethereum Foundation also holds a significant amount of ETH to fund development, recently on the order of a few hundred thousand ETH in its treasury, which it sells gradually to support the ecosystem. However, no single individual or organization (aside from the staking contract) controls anywhere near the majority of ETH; ownership is decentralized in that sense, even if not perfectly evenly distributed.
FAQ
Who is the largest holder of ETH?
The largest holder of ETH isn’t an individual at all, it’s the Ethereum Beacon Chain deposit contract, which holds the funds for staking. As of 2025, this contract holds roughly 56% of all ETH (around 68 million ETH). In other words, over half of all Ethereum is locked in the staking system, making “the network itself” the biggest holder of ETH as a treasury. Among exchanges, Coinbase and Binance are top holders (5.1 million and 4.0 million ETH, respectively) since they custody a lot of users’ coins. If we’re talking about individuals, it’s hard to know exactly but Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin is one of the largest known individual holders with an estimated quarter-million ETH in his wallets.
Does Mark Cuban own Ethereum?
Yes. Billionaire Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of Shark Tank) is a well-known Ethereum believer and holder. He has publicly stated that Ethereum makes up about 30% of his crypto portfolio. In interviews, Cuban has even called himself “an Ethereum maxi” (maximalist) in spirit, because he sees Ethereum as the closest thing to a true digital currency with huge upside. He hasn’t revealed exactly how much ETH he owns, but given his wealth, even 30% of his crypto portfolio likely translates to a substantial amount of ETH. Cuban often praises Ethereum’s smart contracts and DeFi potential, and he’s invested in various Ethereum-based projects. So, while we don’t know the coin count, we do know Mark Cuban definitely owns and strongly supports Ethereum.
How much ETH does the average person own?
It’s difficult to pin down what an “average” person owns, because Ethereum’s supply is very unevenly distributed. If you simply divide the total ETH supply by the number of addresses, you’d get around 1 ETH per address on average (120 million ETH / ~110 million addresses). In reality, most people own far less than that, and a few whales own a ton more. The median holding (what most small holders have) is probably only a tiny fraction of 1 ETH. Many new users might have, say, 0.1 ETH or 1 ETH. Meanwhile, whales and early investors might hold thousands of ETH.
How many Ethereum millionaires are there?
We can’t know the exact number of individual millionaires, but we can estimate based on wallets. On-chain data suggests over 150,000 addresses hold at least $1 million worth of ETH (at current prices). Each of those addresses is essentially an “Ethereum millionaire” in terms of holdings. However, some wealthy individuals control multiple addresses, so the number of actual people is likely lower than 150,000. It’s also possible that one person with $10 million in ETH spreads it across 10 addresses of $1M each. That said, it’s safe to say there are tens of thousands of real Ethereum millionaires worldwide.