Who owns the most Ethereum in the world?
Though it's been called the "silver" to Bitcoin's "gold" since the beginning, Ethereum's been on the rise for a long time in the world of crypto.
Its "smart contracts" have created the ability for sellers and businesses to use automated transactions to help their enterprises run more efficiently and cheaper, with lightning-fast transaction speeds.
This platform has become the most-used blockchain for projects, including many other crypto coins and NFTs.
Ethereum has recently "merged" from the Proof of Work model to a Proof of Stake model, making its blockchain more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, reducing its electricity consumption by 99.95%.
Similar to our list of Top Ten Bitcoin Holders list we did, figuring out who owns the most Ethereum involves a bit of "Guess Who."
While the stats regarding the top holdings of each Ethereum wallet is fully public and trackable, the identity attached to each wallet is hidden. Most of the top wallets you'll find in that link actually belong to crypto exchange platforms, like Coinbase.
For our list today, we're focusing on the top seven high-profile individuals who're likely to personally own the highest amount of ETH.
7. Joseph Lubin
- Co-Founder of Ethereum and the founder of ConsenSys, a blockchain technology company that allows blockchain developers to build new apps and software on the Ethereum network
- ConsenSys has been crucial to the force of innovation on the Ethereum blockchain, inspiring the culture surrounding Ethereum development which has helped lead to ETH's successes as a brand
- Was named the second-richest person in crypto by Forbes in 2018
- Has stated that his ETH holdings have "never been even close to even half of a percent"
- Since founding Ethereum, Lubin has funded hundreds of Ethereum projects out of pocket, investing his Ethereum and dollars into said projects
- Has been adamant about not obtaining any new Ether tokens since Ethereum launched in 2015
6. Jeffrey Berns
- Founder and CEO of Blockchains LLC, Berns' mission is to "empower every individual with a Web3 identity they own and control"
- Prior to crypto career, Berns was a successful attorney whose focus was protecting consumers' rights
- Bought a large sum of ETH in 2015 during a big "sale"
- Sold a large portion of his Ether holdings in 2019 to buy 67,000 acres of land in Nevada to create a free "Ethereum utopia"
- In this city, people will use an Ethereum blockchain address to have personal control over their data, and use their address to vote on changes in the city directly
- In his own words concerning the project: "This will either be the biggest thing ever, or the most spectacular crash and burn in the history of mankind"
- Berns has spent over $300 million purchasing and developing the land, the Ethereum network infrastructure, and a developer staff of over 70 employees
5. Vitalik Buterin
- Co-founder and inventor of Ethereum, launched in 2014
- Son of a Russian computer scientist, Vitalik's father told him about Bitcoin in 2011
- Vitalik began writing for magazines about Bitcoin from then on, until co-founding Bitcoin Magazine
- Described Ethereum's concept in 2013 as a "decentralized mining network and software development platform rolled into one"
- Buterin has been very open with his ETH holdings, offering one of his wallet addresses on Twitter
- Stated he's "never personally held more than ~0.9% of all ETH, and my net worth never came close to $1b"
- Has publicly stated his ETH holding stood at 352,000 ETH
- Named the Ethereum coin after his video game character in World of Warcraft
4. Kevin O'Leary
- Isn't just a Shark Tank investor, but is also a crypto whale
- Believes crypto in general will be the 12th sector of the economy in 10 years
- Attributes its strengths to its ability to provide liquidity, economic productivity, transparency, and audit-ability when it comes to transferring capital
- In 2022, stated he has 20% exposure to crypto, holding largely BTC, ETH, and USDC, and diversified over 32 blockchains and tokens
- Has stated publicly that Ethereum is his largest crypto holding, even over BTC
- In the same way that the most profitable investment during the gold rush was selling pickaxes to gold miners, O'Leary says that investing in the best blockchain technology & infrastructure is more profitable than 'betting' on one coin over another
- This is in part why O'Leary has a large ETH holding
- Has said that NFTs will become bigger than Bitcoin, and most NFT projects are hosted on the Ethereum blockchain
3. Anthony Di Iorio
- Co-Founder of Ethereum, founder and CEO of Decentral and the Jaxx wallet
- His initial foray into crypto came out of studying the history of economics after the 2008 housing crisis
- In 2012, Di Iorio discovered Bitcoin early, buying $8,000 worth of BTC, when it was priced at $10 each
- In 2021, Di Iorio stated he was finished working in crypto development, partially due to personal safety concerns
- However, it seems Di Iorio has continued his work in web3 development, unveiling his decentralized hardware project, Andiami, in 2022
- Andiami seeks to "address crypto's most pressing challenges, including the ongoing and increasing centralization of decentralized network infrastructure"
2. Brock Pierce
- Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, Co-Founder of EOS Alliance, Block.one, Blockchain Capital, and Tether
- Original crypto pioneer, though he was a child actor, most of Pierces' net worth comes from early BTC investments
- Before Bitcoin launched, Pierce founded Internet Gaming Entertainment in 2001, a company that served as a secondary market for selling video game currencies for multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft
- The company spent $25 million buying out competitors, and in 2005 stated they owned 50% of this industry, which they appraised to have $500 million in annual volume
- The company failed in 2006, but Pierce made out alright in his other ventures
- Co-Founded the Tether coin (USDT) in 2014, one of the first stable coins, designed to retain a value of around $1 USD
- Pierce ran for President of the United States in 2020 as an independent
1. Mark Cuban
- The Shark Tank billionaire is a self-professed Ethereum maximalist
- Has claimed that 80% of his investments outside of Shark Tank are in the crypto sphere
- In his investing career, he has seen success investing in developing software, and he assesses that blockchains will change the world, and disrupt many different markets across the globe
- Believes that the winning blockchains will be determined by utility, applications, and integrations
- In 2021 Cuban revealed that his holdings were about 60% BTC, 30% ETH, and 10% in other cryptocurrencies
- Mentioned that while BTC is a good store of value, ETH is the "closest we have to a true currency"
- Cuban has never disclosed his holdings publicly
- With a net worth of ~$5 billion, he may very well own the most on this list
- Also owns over 100 alt coins
Whales, Sharks, and Dreamers
If there's any common thread among these seven Ether titans, it's obsession.
Though their stories may have started at different points in the crypto timeline, the pattern looks the same.
They saw the potential future of freedom and innovation that blockchain technology could produce, became engrossed in the mechanics of how these emerging technologies work, quickly became "sold" on the idea that these potentials could become reality, and went ALL IN, no holds barred.
Who knows what will happen next?
