The world's five largest Bitcoin whales

People who hold at least 1,000 bitcoins are called "Bitcoin whales."

Bitcoin’s odyssey has fascinated the public and attracted a diverse group of buyers since its creation in 2009. Even if you’re not an expert, you might want to know who owns the world’s top cryptocurrency.

Those who hold at least 1,000 bitcoins, whether individuals or companies, are called bitcoin “whales.” Most people will not disclose how much bitcoin they hold, but a few have come forward.

Below is a list of individuals (not companies or entities) who hold the largest amount of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin's anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto reportedly holds about 1 million bitcoins stored in multiple wallets, worth about $60 billion at current prices.

The maximum limit of Bitcoin is 21 million, so Satoshi Nakamoto is one of the top holders of Bitcoin.

The Winklevoss twins — Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss — are among the most prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space. In 2004, they accused Zuckerberg of stealing their social network idea and, after a four-year lawsuit, they won $65 million in damages from Zuckerberg.

Some of the $65 million was reportedly used to buy Bitcoin, with the twins becoming the first high-profile individuals to publicly disclose their $11 million investment in the cryptocurrency.

The twins used the money to acquire 1% of all the world's Bitcoins, which were worth $10 each at the time, and became the first Bitcoin billionaires in 2017.

It is understood that they hold about 70,000 bitcoins.

Bitcoin believer Michael Saylor was a former internet entrepreneur who lost $6 billion in a single day before trying his luck with Bitcoin and his wealth has continued to grow ever since.

The founder of business analytics software company MicroStrategy has been a vocal advocate and buyer of the top cryptocurrency. Saylor personally holds 17,000 Bitcoins, worth $1.05 billion. According to the latest data, his company MicroStrategy holds 214,400 Bitcoins, which is 1% of all Bitcoins in existence.

Tim Draper, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and founding partner of venture capital firm Draper Fisher, first bought Bitcoin in 2012 and has been involved in it ever since.

In 2014, he purchased 29,656 bitcoins from the U.S. Marshals for $18.7 million. These bitcoins were confiscated from the Silk Road black market and bought at $632 each.

Early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, also known as "Bitcoin Jesus," was recently charged with $50 million in tax fraud and is one of the Bitcoin "whales."

According to the latest indictment, Ver failed to report his ownership of 131,000 Bitcoins when he renounced his citizenship in 2014. Ver allegedly used this method to underreport his Bitcoin holdings and evade taxes.

Currently, Bitcoin is trading at around $60,000, which means that Weir's 131,000 bitcoins are worth more than $8 billion.