Key takeaways:
Approximately 70% of all ETH is concentrated in just 10 addresses, primarily held by staking contracts, exchanges, or funds rather than individual whales.
About half of all ETH is secured within a single smart contract: the Beacon Deposit Contract, which underpins Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system.
Major institutions including BlackRock, Fidelity, and publicly listed companies now control millions of ETH, transforming Ether into a significant treasury asset.
The landscape of ETH ownership has shifted from early adopters to platforms and services leveraging the network.
As of August 2025, on-chain data indicates that the top 10 Ether (ETH) holders command around 83.9 million ETH (roughly 70% of the circulating supply).
This has prompted the community to inquire: Who holds the majority of ETH? The findings reveal a dominance of protocol-level smart contracts, major exchanges, exchange-traded fund (ETF) trusts, and even corporations.
This article delves into the Ether rich list of 2025, covering the Beacon staking contract, Coinbase’s hot wallets, BlackRock’s ETHA trust, and Vitalik Buterin’s notable holdings.
Top Ether addresses by balance
The circulating supply of Ether as of mid-2025 is approximately 120.71 million ETH. Following the Pectra upgrade in May, the issuance has leveled off near zero, providing context for the distribution of Ether ownership.
The top 10 Ether addresses collectively hold 83.9 million ETH as of August 4, 2025 (about 70% of the total supply).
A broader analysis shows that the top 200 wallets account for over 52%, holding upwards of 62.76 million ETH, most of which is tied to staking contracts, exchange liquidity, token bridges, or custodial funds. Unlike dormant Bitcoin whale addresses, these Ether whale addresses are actively utilized infrastructure, showcasing ETH’s effectiveness in powering staking, decentralized finance (DeFi), and institutional activities.
Who owns the most Ether in 2025?
As of August 4, 2025, the Beacon Deposit Contract possesses roughly 65.88 million ETH, accounting for about 54.58% of the total circulating supply of 120.71 million ETH.
These stats align closely with March 2025 reports, which estimated the share at roughly 55.6% (see figure below).
This smart contract serves as the entry point for Ethereum validators, each required to deposit a minimum of 32 ETH to secure the network.
Even with the withdrawal feature activated in 2023, funds are not immediately liquid. Validators must exit the active set, endure an unbonding period of around 27 hours, and rely on a protocol-controlled sweep to access their ETH.
Consequently, the Beacon contract emerges as the largest ETH holder—not an individual, but the network itself.
With slashing penalties and structured exits, it enforces accountability among validators. However, critics point out that concentrating half the supply in a single contract could pose systemic risks during coordinated exits or if protocol-level bugs arise.
Did you know? The Wrapped Ether (WETH) smart contract also ranks among the largest ETH holders, currently possessing over 2.26 million ETH (approximately 1.87% of the circulating supply).
The second-largest ETH wallets
As of August 22, 2025, the following exchanges and custodians rank as major ETH holders:
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 addresses represent an active layer of infrastructure where Ether supports exchange liquidity, staking derivatives like cbETH, and asset bridging across chains.
Biggest ETH wallets in 2025
As of late July 2025, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) has significantly influenced institutional ETH ownership, amassing $9.74 billion in net inflows. By August 2025, ETHA commands over 3 million ETH (about 2.5% of the total supply), making it one of the largest ETH wallets of 2025.
Grayscale’s ETHE continues to be a significant player, retaining 1.13 million ETH under management. Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH), initiated in 2024, has attracted $1.4 billion in inflows, while Bitwise transitions from Bitcoin-exclusive mandates to ETH-infused strategies with staking features.
Collectively, these institutions now manage over 5 million ETH (4.4% of total supply), reshaping trends in ETH holding patterns. They form a new breed of DeFi millionaires who are regulated, ETF-based, and cognizant of staking.
Corporate Ether whale addresses
An increasing number of public companies are now adopting strategies similar to Strategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) plan, albeit with staking, treating ETH as a treasury asset. Notable examples include:
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) possesses over 776,000 ETH (approximately $2 billion), financed through a $250-million PIPE round.
SharpLink Gaming (Nasdaq: SBET) has acquired around 480,000 ETH (valued at $1.65 billion) since June.
Bit Digital (Nasdaq: BTBT) holds approximately 120,000 ETH after shifting from Bitcoin following an equity raise.
BTCS (Nasdaq: BTCS) claims around 70,028 ETH (around $275 million), financed via convertible notes.
The majority of this ETH is actively staked, yielding about 3%-5% APY. These firms highlight Ethereum’s programmability, stablecoin ecosystem, and regulatory assurances (like the GENIUS Act) as the basis for their ETH strategies.
This emerging ETH billionaire roster includes not only individuals but also corporate treasuries betting on Ether’s long-term potential.
The ETH billionaire list
While smart contracts and institutions prevail in the Ethereum rich list of 2025, a few individuals still emerge as significant ETH holders.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, is believed to hold between 250,000 and 280,000 ETH (around $950 million), largely contained within a limited number of non-custodial wallets, including the well-known VB3 address.
Rain Lõhmus, co-founder of LHV Bank, acquired 250,000 ETH during the 2014 initial coin offering (ICO) but has lost access to the private key. His holdings remain dormant, now valued near $900 million.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, early investors and founders of Gemini, reportedly possess 150,000-200,000 ETH, in addition to Gemini’s exchange treasury of over 360,000 ETH.
Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and head of ConsenSys, is estimated to retain around 500,000 ETH (approximately $1.2 billion), although this has never been officially verified.
Anthony Di Iorio, another Ethereum co-founder, is said to hold between 50,000 and 100,000 ETH.
Did you know? As of early 2025, Etherscan data indicated over 130 million unique addresses, yet fewer than 1.3 million hold at least 1 ETH, representing less than 1% of the total. That single ETH positions you among the rarefied elite on the Ether rich list of 2025.
How to track Ethereum ownership distribution
Tracking the top Ether holders in 2025 involves leveraging tools like Nansen’s Token God Mode, Dune Analytics, and Etherscan. These platforms categorize wallets by behavior, linking them to exchanges, funds, smart contracts, or individuals.
Token God Mode maps wallet clusters to known entities, tracks inflows/outflows, and ranks the largest ETH wallets in 2025.
Dune dashboards utilize schema tables like “labels.addresses” to differentiate externally owned accounts (EOAs) from smart contracts and exchanges, generating insights into public Ethereum addresses and ETH distribution patterns.
Etherscan classifies wallets based on transaction history, attribution or user-submitted documentation, enhancing transparency in crypto wallets. Together, these resources help illustrate Ether ownership distribution.
Nonetheless, certain limitations persist. Reused deposit addresses can distort figures, cold wallets may defy clustering, and privacy measures obscure actual control. Even the leading 200 Ethereum addresses by balance likely incorporate fragmented or misidentified entities. ETH address rankings embody a blend of certainty and statistical estimation, lacking complete clarity.
Did you know? One of the oldest untouched ETH wallets (likely from the 2014 ICO) retains around 250,000 ETH (around 0.2% of supply) and has not moved a gwei in nearly a decade.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
