You Won’t Believe Who’s Hoarding All the Ether in 2025! 💰

Key takeaways:

It turns out that about 70% of all ETH is tightly gripped by just 10 addresses. But don’t envision an army of solitary whales – the bulk belongs to staking contracts, exchanges, or funds. Who knew the real whales were the ones surfing the contract wave?! 🐋
Nearly half of all ETH is snoozing comfortably in a single smart contract: the Beacon Deposit Contract. It’s like the big comfy couch of the Ethereum world, powering its proof-of-stake system. Seriously, just one lazy couch – how convenient! 🛋️
Big corporate players such as BlackRock and Fidelity now hold millions of ETH. Ether’s no longer just a digital currency; it’s the new treasury darling! 💵 Talk about market maturity – who said finance can’t be cozy?
Gone are the days of early adopters. Today, it’s all about the platforms and services cozying up to Ethereum. It’s kind of like watching your toddler grow up into a tech-savvy adult. 😅

As of August 2025, the on-chain gossip says that the top 10 Ether (ETH) holders are controlling a staggering 83.9 million ETH, which amounts to roughly 70% of the circulating supply. Quite a grip, you’d agree!

This begs the question: Who really owns the majority of ETH? Spoiler alert: it’s not just a few eccentrics sitting on a mountain of digital coins. The answer lies in protocol-level smart contracts, massive exchanges, ETF trusts, and even publicly traded companies. Just like the mystery of who finished all the ice cream in the freezer! 🍦

This delightful article takes a leisurely stroll through the Ether rich list of 2025, from the Beacon staking contract and Coinbase’s ‘hot’ wallets to BlackRock’s ETHA trust and the legendary hoard of Vitalik Buterin’s caches. Buckle up!

Top Ether addresses by balance

Ether’s circulating supply as of mid-2025 sits at around 120.71 million ETH. After the Pectra upgrade in May, issuance has stabilized near net zero, which is like saying ‘we’re all done baking now.’ 🍞

As touched upon, the top 10 Ether addresses collectively own 83.9 million ETH as of August 4, 2025 (that’s a whopping 70% of the overall supply). It’s like they’re all collectively building a digital castle to keep the good stuff safe!

Broadening our view, the top 200 wallets leap out in all their glory, accounting for over 52% of ETH. They hold more than 62.76 million ETH, which primarily links back to staking contracts, exchanging liquidity, token bridges, or custodial funds. Unlike those somnolent Bitcoin whales taking endless naps, these ETH whales are actively engaged, reflecting ETH’s ability to rev up staking, DeFi, and institutional operations. It’s like a bustling bee hive! 🐝

Who owns the most Ether in 2025?

As of August 4, 2025, the Beacon Deposit Contract is chilling nicely with approximately 65.88 million ETH, amounting to about 54.58% of the total circulating supply of 120.71 million ETH. It’s basically the generous landlord of the Ethereum network.

These numbers are tightly knit with the estimates from March 2025, where the share was around 55.6%. Talk about consistency!

Graph showing ETH distribution

This smart contract is the gatekeeper for Ethereum validators, who need to cough up at least 32 ETH to join the exclusive club of network security. Pay up, folks!

Even after the withdrawal feature was rolled out in 2023, let’s not kid ourselves; these funds aren’t exactly liquid. Validators must exit the active set, endure a 27-hour unbonding period, and then just sit there, twiddling their thumbs until the protocol-controlled sweep releases the ETH. Talk about the waiting game! ⏳

This makes the Beacon contract not just the biggest ETH holder, but it’s essentially the network itself playing the puppet master. Who needs a personal wallet when you’ve got the entire network backing you?

With slashing penalties and structured exits, it keeps validators on their toes. But be wary, dear friends, some critics say putting half the supply in one contract is like putting all your eggs in a single, albeit fortified, basket. Sounds like a risky brunch plan! 🍳

Did you know? The Wrapped Ether (WETH) smart contract also takes pride as one of the largest ETH holders, with over 2.26 million ETH (roughly 1.87% of the circulating supply). Who knew wrapping could be so lucrative?

The second-largest ETH wallets

As of August 22, 2025, here’s how the exchanges and custodians are faring in the ETH hoarding game:

Coinbase: 4.93 million ETH (around 4.09% of supply)
Binance: 4.23 million ETH (around 3.51%)
Bitfinex: 3.28 million ETH (around 2.72%)
Base Network bridge: 1.71 million ETH (around 1.4%)
Robinhood: 1.66 million ETH (around 1.37%)
Upbit: 1.36 million ETH (around 1.13%).

These souped-up addresses form a critical layer of active infrastructure where Ether is utilized for backing exchange liquidity, staking derivatives like cbETH, and bridge-hopping assets across chains. It’s like the EPCOT of cryptocurrency liquidity! 🚀

Biggest ETH wallets in 2025

Fast forward to late July 2025, and BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) has made a monumental entrance into the institutional ETH scene. With $9.74 billion reigning in net inflows, ETHA is now holding over 3 million ETH (about 2.5% of the total supply), officially putting it on the ETH wallet leaderboard.

Grayscale’s ETHE isn’t sitting back either, managing 1.13 million ETH. Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH), which made its debut in 2024, has already raked in $1.4 billion in inflows, all while Bitwise is pivoting from Bitcoin-only ventures to ETH-based strategies with an eye on staking features.

Collectively, these institutional giants now manage over 5 million ETH (4.4% of supply), reshaping the ETH holding patterns significantly. They’re like the new-age DeFi millionaires, all decked out in their regulation-friendly, ETF-loving gear. 🤑

Graph showing ETH wallet rankings

Corporate Ether whale addresses

It seems like public companies are joining the ETH party and taking notes from their Bitcoin counterparts but with a sprinkle of staking on top. Let’s take a look at some excellent attendees:

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) holds over 776,000 ETH (worth around $2 billion), funded by a nifty $250-million PIPE round.
SharpLink Gaming (Nasdaq: SBET) snapped up around 480,000 ETH (around $1.65 billion) since June. Talk about a shopping spree!
Bit Digital (Nasdaq: BTBT) has transitioned from Bitcoin to holding around 120,000 ETH, following some equity raising.
BTCS (Nasdaq: BTCS) boasts about 70,028 ETH (worth around $275 million), courtesy of some clever convertible notes.

Most of this luscious ETH is actively staked, generating a nice 3%-5% APY. These firms are riding high on Ethereum’s programmability, stablecoin ecosystem, and regulatory clarity (like the GENIUS Act). They truly understand the value of putting their money to work! 💼

This new ETH billionaire list isn’t just populated by individual holders; it’s corporate treasuries too, all rooting for Ether’s long-term journey!

The ETH billionaire list

While smart contracts and institutional players dominate the Ethereum rich list of 2025, let’s not forget about the individuals who still stand out in the ether haze.

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, is rumored to hold between 250,000 and 280,000 ETH (around $950 million). He’s got it spread across a select few non-custodial wallets, including the well-known VB3 address. Quite the tech hoarder, isn’t he?

Rain Lõhmus, the co-founder of LHV Bank, made a grand purchase of 250,000 ETH during the 2014 ICO madness, but alas, he lost access to the private key. His fortunes rest in limbo, now worth nearly $900 million! Talk about a case of “Oops!” 😅

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, those regularly injured darlings of the crypto world, are estimated to control 150,000-200,000 ETH, separate from Gemini’s exchange treasury of over 360,000 ETH. It seems they’ve got a healthy stash on the side!

Joseph Lubin, another Ethereum co-founder and the mastermind behind ConsenSys, is estimated to hold around 500,000 ETH (around $1.2 billion), though that’s never been formally confirmed. A man of mystery, perhaps?

And let’s not overlook Anthony Di Iorio, who reportedly keeps somewhere between 50,000-100,000 ETH under his virtual mattress.

Did you know? As of early 2025, Etherscan data mentions over 130 million unique addresses, yet fewer than 1.3 million boast at least 1 ETH. It’s like being part of an elite club – and that solitary ETH is your secret membership badge.

How to track Ethereum ownership distribution

Tracking down the top Ether holders in 2025 hinges on handy tools like Nansen’s Token God Mode, Dune Analytics, and Etherscan. These platforms are the insightful detectives of the Ethereum universe.

Token God Mode maps wallet clusters to known entities, tracking inflows/outflows and ranking the biggest ETH wallets in 2025. It’s like having a friendly spy on your side!
Dune dashboards use clever little schema tables like “labels.addresses” to sort external accounts from smarts. They create insights into public Ethereum addresses and ETH holding patterns. Sherlock would be proud!
Etherscan tags wallets based on transaction history too. It’s like a kids’ tag game – “You’re it! You’re labeled!” Together, these tools outline the complex web of Ether ownership distribution.

However, let’s face it, limitations do apply here. Reused deposit addresses can bloat figures unrealistically, cold wallets might slip right past clustering, and privacy techniques can make actual control feel like an elusive ghost. Even the top 200 Ethereum addresses might host a mix of fragmented or mislabeled entities. So yes, ETH address rankings reflect a curious blend of certainty and educated guessing, not total clarity.

Did you know? One of the oldest untouched ETH wallets (likely from the 2014 ICO) still sits pretty with about 250,000 ETH (around 0.2% of the supply) and hasn’t budged a gwei in nearly a decade. Now that’s commitment!

2025-09-01 13:52