[Ethereum](https://exolix.com/currencies/eth){:target="_blank" rel="dofollow"} is one of the most held and influential cryptocurrencies globally, used for various applications such as DeFi, Staking, NFTs, L2 ecosystems, and many more. With the continued scaling of the Ethereum network through rollups and institutional investments, the question on everyone's mind is the same: Who are the largest ETH holders in 2026?

The top Ethereum holders can be used to understand various factors such as:

-   The distribution of ETH

-   The entities with the largest liquidity pools

-   The impact of Staking, Rollups, and ETFs on the supply of ETH

-   The number of ETH held by individuals compared to institutions

In this article, we will be discussing Ethereum holders and how many people own Ethereum in 2026, including Staking Contracts, Exchanges, Financial Institutions, Public Goods, Governments, and Individuals.

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Summary: Who Owns the Most ETH in 2026
--------------------------------------

So, who owns Ethereum at all? The Ethereum landscape has changed dramatically since the merge, and the ETH distribution pattern shows a combination of staking dominance, institutional investment, and multi-chain adoption.

| Rank | Entity                                     | ETH Tokens Owned | USD Value       | Supply %     |
| ---- | ------------------------------------------ | ---------------- | --------------- | ------------ |
| 1    | Eth2 Beacon Deposit Contract (0x000)       | 77,186,906       | $241.39B        | 63.23%       |
| 2    | Binance                                    | 4,158,880        | $13.07B         | 3.45%        |
| 3    | BlackRock                                  | 3,418,102        | $10.74B         | 2.83%        |
| 4    | Coinbase                                   | 2,904,924        | $8.99B          | 2.4%         |
| 5    | Bitmine                                    | 2,853,019 (4.1M) | $8.97B ($12.8B) | 2.36% (3.4%) |
| 6    | Wrapped Ether (WETH) (0xC02)               | 2,580,623        | $8.11B          | 2.14%        |
| 7    | Upbit                                      | 1,518,654        | $4.77B          | 1.26%        |
| 8    | Robinhood                                  | 1,490,422        | $4.68B          | 1.23%        |
| 9    | OKX                                        | 1,081,814        | $3.4B           | 0.90%        |
| 10   | Kraken                                     | 1,080,100        | $3.4B           | 0.89%        |
| 11   | Bitfinex                                   | 776,943          | $2.44B          | 0.64%        |
| 12   | Arbitrum                                   | 769,819          | $2.42B          | 0.64%        |
| 13   | Base                                       | 736,840          | $2.32B          | 0.61%        |
| 14   | Gemini                                     | 525,693          | $1.65B          | 0.44%        |
| 15   | Grayscale                                  | 520,312          | $1.64B          | 0.43%        |
| 16   | 0xE92d1A43df510F82C66382592a047d288f85226f | 450,118          | $1.41B          | 0.37%        |
| 17   | Bybit                                      | 388,839          | $1.22B          | 0.32%        |
| 18   | Fidelity Custody                           | 368,553          | $1.16B          | 0.31%        |
| 19   | 0xcA8Fa8f0b631EcdB18Cda619C4Fc9d197c8aFfCa | 325,000          | $1.02B          | 0.27%        |
| 20   | Polkadot                                   | 306,277          | $962.72M        | 0.25%        |


The most significant findings for 2026 are as follows:

-   The ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract is the largest ETH holder, with over 76 million ETH staked, which is over 60% of the total supply.

-   The exchanges hold millions of ETH collectively, as they provide trading, liquidity, and staking services for their users.

-   Rain Lohmus is still the largest individual ETH holder (250K ETH), but he doesn't have access to his wallet.

-   Vitalik Buterin is the largest individual holder who has active access to his ETH, with ~240K ETH.

-   Financial institutions like BlackRock are now among the largest holders because of the growth in Ethereum ETFs.

-   Ethereum treasury companies like Bitmine hold multi-billion-dollar ETH reserves.

-   Governments, including the US government, accumulate ETH through seizures.

Ethereum rollups like Arbitrum and Base hold substantial ETH reserves in their native bridges, which is an essential metric for L2 adoption.

The Largest ETH Holder in 2026: The Beacon Deposit Contract
-----------------------------------------------------------

The largest holder of Ethereum in the world is not a person, exchange, or institution -- it is the ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract. The ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract is a smart contract that holds the ETH deposited for securing the Ethereum network through Proof-of-Stake.

As of 2026, the Beacon Deposit Contract holds:

-   76 million+ ETH, worth over $240 billion

-   Approximately 63% of the total circulating supply

This smart contract holds the collective deposits of validators who stake ETH as collateral to validate and finalize blocks. No individual holds control over this ETH -- it is completely controlled by the protocol.

### Why So Much ETH Is Locked in Staking

There are various reasons that contribute to this enormous concentration:

-   Ethereum's security model necessitates validators to stake ETH.

-   Staking yields provide a guarantee of return for long-term investors.

-   Many exchanges and liquid staking platforms hold ETH deposits on their customers' behalf.

-   Institutions are increasingly adopting staking as a long-term investment strategy.

The dominance of the Beacon Deposit Contract is a good representation of how central staking is to Ethereum's utility and value structure. This is why liquid staking tokens have come to represent one of the biggest sectors in the crypto space.

Exchanges: The Largest Institutional Holders of Ethereum
--------------------------------------------------------

The centralized exchanges are some of the biggest ETH holders in 2026 due to their support of global trading, custody, and staking services for millions of users worldwide. With the continued support of the Ethereum network as the backbone of DeFi and Web3, the exchanges must hold large reserves of ETH to facilitate the smooth experience of users.

-   The largest holder of ETH among the exchanges is Binance, with more than 4 million ETH, which is equivalent to $13 billion in assets. This is due to the support of users across hundreds of jurisdictions worldwide. Therefore, the reserves of ETH held by the exchange are a result of the large trading volumes as well as the demand for staking services among users.

-   The second-largest holder of ETH is Coinbase, with 2.9 million ETH, which is equivalent to $9 billion in assets. This is due to the support of various institutional accounts, user accounts, as well as the staking of ETH through cbETH. As the most heavily regulated entity in the US, the exchange is the gateway for institutional ETH users.

-   In Asia, Upbit is notable for holding nearly 1.5 million ETH, one of the largest reserves in the region. Additionally, the exchange provides an active trading market for ETH and staking services.

While the ETH reserves held by these exchanges are considerable, it is worth noting that these assets do not belong to the exchanges themselves. Instead, they are the aggregate holdings of millions of users who utilize these platforms to hold, trade, and stake their ETH. What the exchanges do is act as custodians to guarantee that the global ETH market is liquid and accessible.

Public Goods & Protocol-Level Holders of Ethereum
-------------------------------------------------

In addition to these exchanges and institutions, there are several significant Ethereum addresses that represent public goods, which are components of the infrastructure that help secure the network, allow for multi-chain interactions, or help facilitate key technical processes. These addresses do not have any one person controlling the funds. They hold the ETH on behalf of the ecosystem.

-   One of the most significant addresses is the Wrapped Ether (WETH) contract, which holds over 2.6 million ETH. WETH is critical to the DeFi ecosystem, as it wraps the native ETH into a standardized ERC-20 token that is compatible with decentralized exchanges, lending platforms, and other on-chain applications. The ETH in this contract represents the amount of WETH that has been minted across the ecosystem, which is constantly in motion as the liquidity in the DeFi ecosystem fluctuates.

-   Ethereum's L2 networks also contribute to the high ETH concentrations. One such prominent optimistic rollup is Arbitrum, which has more than 770,000 ETH in its native bridge. In this case, the users deposit the ETH into the Arbitrum bridge contract and then mint the bridged ETH on the L2 network. This allows the users to take part in high-speed and low-cost transactions. The amount of ETH in the Arbitrum bridge is a clear representation of the level of adoption that the network has reached.

-   The same case applies to Base, which is an optimistic rollup that is backed by Coinbase. Base has approximately 736,000 ETH locked in its gateway bridge. In this case, the ETH is deposited into the bridge contract and then used to mint the equivalent amount on the L2 network.

The role that these protocol-level addresses play is critical. They are used for staking deposits, wrapped assets, DeFi liquidity, and the transfer of ETH between the expanding rollup network. Unlike other addresses that are used by individuals and institutions, these addresses play a crucial role in supporting millions of users.

Financial Institutions: ETFs, Treasuries, and Corporate Holders of ETH
----------------------------------------------------------------------

As the Ethereum ecosystem grows, conventional financial institutions have become some of the largest holders of Ether. This has been further fueled by the approval of Ethereum-based exchange-traded products, which require these companies to hold large amounts of Ether in custody. This is a significant change from the early days of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, in which institutional investment in Ethereum was negligible.

-   BlackRock. Institutional fund BlackRock has become one of the largest holders of Ether in 2026. Through its Ethereum trust and ETF products, BlackRock manages over 3.4 million Ether, or approximately $11 billion based on current Ether values. This is used to support the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), which enables investors to gain exposure to Ether without the need for managing keys or on-chain activities. As the need for cryptocurrency investment products increases, ETF issuers continue to accumulate Ether at large scales.

-   Bitmine. Another significant player in the Ethereum treasury space is Bitmine, an Ethereum treasury management firm that essentially does the same as MicroStrategy in the [Bitcoin](https://exolix.com/currencies/btc) ecosystem. Bitmine has 2.8 million ETH verified on-chain, with a total claimed treasury of around 4.1 million ETH, which translates to more than $12 billion. Their aim is to accumulate 5% of the total ETH supply, which is an unprecedented approach for a crypto treasury strategy.

Government Holdings: Ethereum Seizures and Custodied Assets
-----------------------------------------------------------

Government institutions have also shown up as unexpected and largest Ethereum holders and not by design. Most of the largest Ethereum held by governments has been seized as a result of criminal investigations, hacking cases, or asset forfeiture. This is usually a temporary holding until the ETH is auctioned or redistributed, but it still shows up in the on-chain distribution.

In 2026, the United States government is one of the most prominent public institutions holding ETH. It holds about 64,700 ETH, worth over $240 million, in several known wallets. This ETH was seized from high-profile cases such as:

-   darknet marketplaces

-   fraud and theft cases

-   major crypto hacks

Some of the ETH is held for legal purposes, while other amounts are transferred to the U.S. Marshals Service for liquidation. While governments do not actively accumulate or stake Ethereum, their on-chain presence is still among the largest known holdings.

Major Individual ETH Holders in 2026
------------------------------------

A small number of people hold large amounts of Ethereum, although the total of this is much less than the total of the staking contracts or exchanges.

-   Rain Lohmus. The largest individual holder is Rain Lohmus, who was an early investor in the presale of Ethereum, holding 250,000 ETH. However, he is unable to access the private keys to the wallet, which means the funds are unrecoverable.

-   Vitalik Buterin. The most well-known active individual holder is Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, who holds 240,000 ETH. This is publicly known, although he does use the funds to support the ecosystem.

The other early contributors and the participants in the presale own large amounts, although no one has anything close to the scale of the staking contracts, financial institutions, or the exchange reserves. While the individual contributors played an important role in the early days of Ethereum's distribution, the Ethereum network today is primarily institutional and protocol-level and staking-driven.

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Stolen Funds and Hacker-Controlled ETH Addresses
------------------------------------------------

A portion of Ethereum's total supply resides in addresses linked to some of the most infamous hacks and exploits in its history. Although these addresses do not stake or transact, they remain some of the largest ETH known holders.

One of the most well-known addresses is the Gatecoin hacker, which possesses more than 156,000 ETH stolen in the infamous exchange hack in 2016. Several other large addresses are linked to DeFi hackers, exchange hackers, and private key thieves from the early days of the ecosystem, which was less secure.

### Examples of major hacker-controlled ETH wallets:

-   Gatecoin Hacker Wallet - 156K+ ETH

-   Legacy Exchange Exploit Wallets - From Early Centralized Exchange Compromises

-   DeFi Protocol Exploiters - From Smart Contract Exploits During Early Experimentation Period

-   Private Key Compromise Addresses - Inactive to Avoid Traceability

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Who are the largest ETH holders in 2026? Let's Find out it including Staking Contracts, Exchanges, Financial Institutions, Public Goods, Governments, and Individuals.

Top ETH Holders 2026: Who Owns the Most Ethereum?

While the world of blockchains still struggles with scalability and developer usability, [Hathor (HTR)](https://exolix.com/currencies/htr){:target="_blank" rel="dofollow"} is a network that is future proof to streamline the process of building blockchains and tokenizing assets. Hathor Network is a Layer-1 blockchain that leverages blockchain and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology in a hybrid system that is high-volume transaction capable without compromising security and decentralization.

Its lifeblood is HTR crypto which propels transactions, network security, and simple generation of customized tokens. With no need to write a lot of smart contracts, Hathor coin enables users to create scalable blockchain apps with minimal coding experience - a hallmark that makes it differ from the best-known digital currencies available today.

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What Is Hathor Coin (HTR)?
---------------------------

Hathor coin (HTR) is the native cryptocurrency for the Hathor blockchain. It serves as a payment for transaction fees, mining reward, and exchange medium for the ecosystem.

Amongst all the characteristics that distinguish Hathor, token issuance simplicity is particularly noteworthy. In contrast to a majority of smart contract blockchains, Hathor natively supports issuing new tokens without an extra cost beyond network charges. Such an arrangement provides prospects to developers and organizations for issuing digital assets, NFTs, or rewards programs securely and easily.

### Key Features of HTR Coin

-   Native token creation: Native in-chain token generation without smart contracts or code.

-   Hybrid DAG-blockchain architecture: Merges DAG for transactional performance and blockchain for security and ultimate finality.

-   Low-energy, high-performance: Built for enterprise and mass adoption at scale.

-   Energy-efficient mining: Merged mining on [Bitcoin](https://exolix.com/currencies/btc), allowing for improved security with minimal levels of energy consumption.

The outcome is a scalable, energy-aware blockchain ecosystem where HTR  crypto encourages innovation and mass-scale adoption.

How Does Hathor Network Work
----------------------------

### Hybrid Blockchain and DAG Architecture

The hybrid architecture of Hathor Network is likely its most innovative aspect. It uses blockchain for security nodes and DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) for parallelized transaction processing at high speeds.

-   Blockchain Layer: Ensures immutability and anchors all transactions in a secure record.

-   DAG Layer: Allows more than one transaction to be processed simultaneously, making it scalable and unclogged.

By using the hybrid model, Hathor is capable of processing thousands of transactions per second and can be feasible for retail and enterprise use.

### Consensus Mechanism

Hathor  coin employs a Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm merge-mineable with Bitcoin so that miners can lock blocks in both chains at the same time. This presents Hathor with another level of security without extra computational resources - a cheap and environmentally friendly way of network protection.

### Use and Purpose of HTR  Crypto

HTR token has some of the key functions in the Hathor ecosystem:

-   Transaction Charges: All transactions, token transfers, and NFT creation are token-locked using HTR for transaction confirmation.

-   Mining Incentives: Miners are rewarded for network security using HTR through merged mining.

-   Token Economy: HTR balances token issuance by issuing new tokens through temporary locking of HTR.

-   Governance: Decentralized HTR holder governance must control subsequent protocol updates and ecosystem decisions.

By combining these utilities, Hathor is constructing HTR  crypto as a value-carrying digital asset instead of a speculative token - encouraging long-term sustainability and real value.

Hathor's Ecosystem and Use Cases
--------------------------------

The Hathor Network has the ability to reward developers and businesses by offering a scalable and multi-use platform for a variety of blockchain use cases.

### 1\. Tokenization Simplified

Tokens or NFTs can be issued by users on the network without the requirement of programming. It is especially useful for startups, gaming companies, and small entities looking to quickly issue tokens.

### 2\. Decentralized Applications (dApps)

Developers have the ability to create dApps that are able to leverage Hathor's scalability and lower transaction fees. The network includes fintech, gaming, and supply chain project natively supported.

### 3\. Digital Assets and Payments

HTR  crypto supports rapid peer-to-peer transfers with a low fee and is hence ideal for micropayments and remittances.

### 4\. Merged Mining

Support for Bitcoin mining gives dual-chain rewards and is thus appealing to efficiency- and security-conscious miners.

These utilities are just an example of Hathor's vision - an easy, scalable blockchain network for the world.

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Hathor's Team and Development
-----------------------------

Hathor  coin was established by Marcelo Brogliato, formerly a distributed systems and cryptography researcher. Hathor launched in January 2021 after working on testnet for years. The project was different because the team's focus had been on usability and scalability as it was a "blockchain made easy" platform.

Hathor Foundation governs ecosystem development, partnerships, and governance. It remains actively supporting developer grants and community projects to drive network adoption.

### HTR Coin Price and Market Performance

HTR  coin  price has gone through typical market volatility since its launch, as could be expected of the general sentiment of the cryptocurrency market. Although initial volatility was confined by the trajectory of Bitcoin prices, HTR has remained robust by showing sustained network growth and growing token usage.

HTR  coin is listed on many large exchanges, and its worth is supported by its use-case-oriented approach - having the ability to facilitate real-world tokenization and dApp building. Its hybrid architecture is termed a long-term Layer-1 distinction by analysts.

HTR  crypto is still a mid-cap project with solid fundamentals, growing community, and rising integrations within Web3 infrastructure as of 2025.

### What Makes Hathor (HTR) Unique?

-   User-Friendly Blockchain: Makes blockchain accessible to users and business organizations alike.

-   Energy Efficiency: Bitcoin mining focus is energetically wasteful consumption-neutral.

-   Native Tokenization: Tokenizable smart contract-free token design gives Hathor a competitive edge.

-   Scalable Hybrid Model: Blockchain-DAG hybrid enables lightning-speed, economical transactions.

-   Powerful Developer Tools: Intrinsic support for token bridges, atomic swaps, and side-DAGs.

Hathor coin usability and scalability position it in the minority of Layer-1 blockchains that have achieved such a balance between innovation and usability, a midpoint in the fast-changing crypto landscape.

### Hathor Future and Roadmap

Network utility guiding partnerships and ecosystem integrations by the Hathor Foundation continue. The development priorities are now:

-   Cross-chain compatibility, enabling Hathor to bridge with other blockchains.

-   More extensive developer SDKs, integration into existing Web3 infrastructure to be simple.

-   DeFi and NFT growth, value proposition to HTR as a foundation asset for decentralized networks.

-   New tokenomics frameworks, setting long-term stability and incentivization for communities.

With a well-researched ethos and increasing interoperability focus, Hathor (HTR) is poised for long-term adoption and growth in the years to come.

Hathor's Role in the Future of Blockchain
-----------------------------------------

Hathor (HTR) is the future of blockchain convenience in that it is user-friendly, scalable, and sustainable without sacrificing decentralization. Its low-fee transaction model, merged mining, and native token creation are what make it so convenient and powerful for enterprise and individual users.

As companies look to harness blockchain more broadly, Hathor  coin (HTR) provides a high-performing, high-performing, and sustainable alternative to clunky networks. By narrowing the gap between high performance and accessibility, Hathor is revolutionizing the standard for blockchain solutions - demonstrating that innovation does not have to sacrifice simplicity.

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Hathor coin (HTR) is the native cryptocurrency for the Hathor blockchain. It serves as a payment for transaction fees, mining reward, and exchange medium for the ecosystem.

Authors Page

Bradley Pierce

Crypto Niche Expert

Articles: 597

Top ETH Holders 2026: Who Owns the Most Ethereum?

What Is Hathor (HTR)?

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