According to a report from BlockBeats on May 8th, Arkham has just released a list of the 10 richest people in the blockchain field with traceable on- chain assets in 2026. The assets of these individuals are estimated based on publicly available data from the chain. The majority of the top earners' wealth comes from owning Bitcoin or Ethereum from the early years, with Satoshi Nakamoto still holding the number one spot by a significant margin.
Satoshi Nakamoto tops the list with approximately $89 billion . This anonymous Bitcoin founder remains the wealthiest holder of on- chain assets, with his fortune entirely derived from Bitcoin mined in 2009-2010, distributed across approximately 22,000 addresses. This wealth places him among the top 25 richest people in the world.
Justin Sun , the founder of TRON, owns assets worth approximately $1.5 billion , which includes a large amount of TRX ($1.8 billion, approximately $610 million), stETH , BTC , and other assets.
James Howells , a Welsh IT employee, lost his private key. This "tragic figure" had an estimated net worth of $650 million . In 2010, he mined approximately $8,000 worth of Bitcoin using his laptop. However, in 2013, he accidentally discarded the hard drive containing his private key, and it is now buried in a landfill, beyond recovery.
Rain Lohmus , an Estonian banker with assets worth approximately $589 million , participated in the ETH ICO in 2014 with $75,000 , receiving 250,000 ETH . However, due to the loss of the private key, these assets are now visible but inaccessible.
Stefan Thomas , an early Bitcoin developer, has an estimated net worth of $569 million , including 7,002 BTC earned from creating videos introducing Bitcoin. His private key is stored in an IronKey hardware wallet, but he lost the passcode , leaving him with only two attempts before it is permanently deleted.
Vitalik Buterin , co-founder of Ethereum, owns assets worth approximately $533 million , primarily from ETH allocated at the time of Ethereum's creation. He also regularly receives large amounts of Token from Memecoin projects.
Clifton Collins , an Irish drug dealer, had assets worth approximately $447 million . He purchased $6,000 worth of BTC between 2011 and 2012 at a price of around $5 per BTC . However, his private key was lost while he was hiding it in a fishing rod, leading to his arrest. In March 2026, one of his wallets was reactivated, and police recovered approximately $35 million worth of BTC.
Cobo , the founder and CEO of DiscusFish , has an estimated net worth of $213 million , primarily held in BTC .
Patricio Worthalter , the founder of POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol), has an estimated net worth of $149 million , primarily in ETH and related assets.
James Fickel , a well-known trader, has an estimated net worth of $115 million . He bought ETH at a low price in 2016 and still holds around 49,000 ETH . Previously, he lost $43 million betting on ETH/ BTC and is now focusing on a neuroscience research fund.
