Top ETH Holders 2026: Who Owns the Most Ethereum?

Ethereum 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.

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 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.

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