Key Takeaways
- Roughly 70% of all ETH is held by just 10 addresses, but the majority of these wallets belong to staking contracts, exchanges, and institutional funds, not individual whales.
- Nearly half of all circulating Ether resides in a single smart contract: the Beacon Deposit Contract, which secures Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system.
- Institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and publicly traded companies now hold millions of ETH, cementing Ether’s role as a serious treasury and investment asset.
- ETH ownership has evolved from early adopters and ICO participants to a landscape dominated by platforms, funds, and financial infrastructure providers.
Introduction
As of August 2025, on-chain data reveals that the top 10 Ether holders control about 83.9 million ETH, equivalent to nearly 70% of the total circulating supply.
This has raised a pressing question within the community: Who actually owns the majority of Ether? The evidence points not toward individual crypto whales but rather toward protocol-level smart contracts, centralized exchanges, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and publicly listed companies.
In this article, we explore the Ethereum rich list of 2025—ranging from the Beacon Deposit Contract and Coinbase’s massive custodial wallets to BlackRock’s ETHA trust and the enduring personal holdings of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Top Ether Addresses by Balance
Ethereum’s circulating supply as of mid-2025 is approximately 120.71 million ETH. Following the Pectra upgrade in May 2025, issuance has stabilized around net zero, providing a backdrop for how Ether’s ownership is structured.
By August 4, 2025, the top 10 Ethereum addresses controlled 83.9 million ETH, roughly 70% of the total supply. Expanding further, the top 200 wallets hold over 62.76 million ETH (about 52%).
Importantly, most of these addresses are tied to staking contracts, exchange liquidity pools, token bridges, or custodial funds. Unlike many inactive Bitcoin whales, Ethereum’s top wallets remain active and functional, underscoring ETH’s role in staking, DeFi, and institutional operations.
Who Owns the Most Ether in 2025?
As of August 4, 2025, the Beacon Deposit Contract dominates as the single largest holder of Ether. It contains 65.88 million ETH, representing 54.58% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply of 120.71 million ETH.
These figures align with reports from March 2025, which estimated Beacon’s share at 55.6%. This contract serves as the entry point for Ethereum validators, each of whom must deposit 32 ETH to secure the network.
Even after the 2023 upgrade that enabled withdrawals, ETH in the Beacon contract remains semi-locked. Validators must exit the active set, endure a 27-hour unbonding period, and then await a protocol-managed sweep to retrieve funds.
This mechanism ensures validator accountability and prevents mass exits but also makes the Beacon contract both the largest ETH holder and a critical security backbone. While some analysts highlight systemic risks from this concentration—such as coordinated validator exits or bugs—most agree it reflects Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake infrastructure.
The Second-Largest ETH Wallets
As of August 22, 2025, leading exchanges and custodians account for some of Ethereum’s biggest wallets:
- Coinbase: 4.93 million ETH (4.09% of supply)
- Binance: 4.23 million ETH (3.51%)
- Bitfinex: 3.28 million ETH (2.72%)
- Base Network Bridge: 1.71 million ETH (1.4%)
- Robinhood: 1.66 million ETH (1.37%)
- Upbit: 1.36 million ETH (1.13%)
These holdings represent active infrastructure rather than passive wealth storage. ETH in these addresses supports exchange liquidity, staking derivatives such as cbETH, and cross-chain bridging operations.
Biggest ETH Wallets in 2025: Institutional Funds
By late July 2025, institutional ETH adoption accelerated following the launch of BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). With $9.74 billion in net inflows, ETHA holds more than 3 million ETH (about 2.5% of total supply) as of August.
Other major institutional players include:
- Grayscale ETHE: 1.13 million ETH
- Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH): $1.4 billion in inflows since 2024
- Bitwise ETH Funds: Pivoting from BTC-only products to ETH-focused staking mandates
Collectively, these institutions now control over 5 million ETH (4.4% of circulating supply). This marks a new era of ETH ownership, where regulated ETFs and investment funds join DeFi participants in shaping the Ethereum economy.
Corporate Ether Whale Addresses
Public companies have also embraced ETH as a treasury and yield-bearing asset, following a playbook inspired by corporate Bitcoin strategies but enhanced with staking yields.
Key corporate holders include:
- Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR): 776,000 ETH (≈$2 billion), financed via a $250M PIPE round
- SharpLink Gaming (Nasdaq: SBET): 480,000 ETH (≈$1.65 billion) since June
- Bit Digital (Nasdaq: BTBT): 120,000 ETH after pivoting from Bitcoin
- BTCS (Nasdaq: BTCS): 70,028 ETH (≈$275 million), funded by convertible notes
Most of this ETH is actively staked, generating 3–5% APY. Corporations cite Ethereum’s programmability, its stablecoin economy, and regulatory clarity (e.g., the GENIUS Act) as reasons for betting on ETH’s long-term value.
The ETH Billionaire List: Individual Holders
Although contracts and institutions dominate, a handful of individuals still rank among Ethereum’s richest holders:
- Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum Co-Founder): 250,000–280,000 ETH (~$950M), largely stored in a small cluster of wallets such as the VB3 address.
- Rain Lõhmus (LHV Bank Co-Founder): Purchased 250,000 ETH in the 2014 ICO, but lost access to his private key—worth nearly $900M today.
- Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss (Gemini Founders): Personal holdings estimated at 150,000–200,000 ETH, distinct from Gemini’s 360,000 ETH exchange treasury.
- Joseph Lubin (Ethereum Co-Founder, ConsenSys CEO): Estimated 500,000 ETH (~$1.2B), though not publicly confirmed.
- Anthony Di Iorio (Ethereum Co-Founder): Believed to hold 50,000–100,000 ETH.
These figures demonstrate that while individual whales remain relevant, Ethereum’s ownership map is increasingly corporate and institutional.
How to Track Ethereum Ownership Distribution
Tracking Ether’s rich list relies on advanced blockchain analytics tools:
- Nansen’s Token God Mode: Maps wallet clusters, categorizes them by entity, and ranks the biggest ETH addresses.
- Dune Analytics Dashboards: Leverages schemas like labels.addresses to separate EOAs, smart contracts, and exchanges, providing real-time ETH distribution insights.
- Etherscan: Tags wallets based on transaction history, attribution, or crowdsourced evidence, enabling transparency into ETH movements.
However, limitations remain. Reused deposit addresses can inflate numbers, cold wallets may not be linked to known entities, and privacy techniques obscure ultimate ownership. Even among the top 200 Ethereum addresses, many may represent fragmented or mislabeled entities.
Thus, ETH ownership distribution is a blend of transparent data and probabilistic inference, not complete certainty.
Conclusion
Ethereum’s ownership landscape in 2025 reflects the network’s evolution from a grassroots project to a global financial platform. While early adopters and founders still command significant holdings, the majority of Ether now sits within protocol contracts, centralized exchanges, ETFs, and corporate treasuries.
The Beacon Deposit Contract alone accounts for over half the supply, underlining the dominance of staking infrastructure. Meanwhile, institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Bitmine Immersion Technologies have transformed ETH into both a Wall Street asset class and a yield-bearing corporate treasury instrument.
Looking forward, Ethereum’s rich list will likely continue shifting toward regulated funds, staking derivatives, and multinational companies, further blurring the line between decentralized crypto wealth and traditional financial power.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the largest holder of ETH in 2025?
The Beacon Deposit Contract, which secures Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system, is the single largest holder with 65.88 million ETH (54.58% of total supply).
Do individual whales still dominate ETH ownership?
Not anymore. While individuals like Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin still hold hundreds of thousands of ETH, the majority of holdings now belong to protocol contracts, exchanges, ETFs, and corporations.
Which institutions hold the most ETH?
As of 2025, BlackRock’s ETHA Trust leads with over 3 million ETH, followed by Grayscale (1.13M ETH) and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund. Together, institutions control more than 5 million ETH.
What risks come from ETH concentration in a few addresses?
The dominance of the Beacon Contract and large exchanges means ETH ownership is concentrated in infrastructure. This raises concerns about systemic risks, though staking design and validator accountability mitigate some dangers.
How can I track the largest ETH wallets?
You can use tools like Nansen, Dune Analytics, and Etherscan to monitor ETH distribution. These platforms provide real-time insights into wallet balances, ownership categories, and transaction history.