Crypto millionaire numbers fall while global ownership reaches 742 million

The number of crypto millionaires worldwide has fallen to 135,694 as the digital asset market contracted to $2.6 trillion, while Bitcoin still accounts for more than two thirds of people holding at least $1 million in crypto.

Summary

• The number of crypto millionaires has fallen to 135,694 worldwide, including 92,272 people holding at least $1 million in Bitcoin.
• Global crypto ownership has reached 742 million people despite the market contracting to $2.6 trillion, according to Henley & Partners.
• Singapore retained the top spot in Henley's 2026 Crypto Adoption Index, followed by the UAE, Hong Kong, the US and Switzerland.
• Crypto wealth faces expanding tax reporting as dozens of jurisdictions prepare to exchange information under the OECD framework.

Henley & Partners said in its Crypto Wealth Report 2026 that 92,272 people now hold at least $1 million in Bitcoin, with the asset accounting for roughly $1.6 trillion of the total crypto market as of Aug. 31.

Bitcoin was trading around 38% below its October 2025 peak when the report was compiled. Henley described the decline as milder than previous major Bitcoin downturns, with the corrections following the 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2021 peaks each exceeding 75%.

At the upper end of the wealth scale, the report counted 290 crypto centimillionaires with digital assets worth at least $100 million. Of those, 151 held their wealth in Bitcoin. Another 23 people qualified as crypto billionaires, including nine whose wealth was tied to Bitcoin.

Crypto millionaire numbers fall during the downturn

The latest figures represent a reversal from the sharp wealth expansion recorded during the previous market cycle. In 2024, crypto.news previously reported that the number of people holding more than $1 million in digital assets had climbed 95% to 172,300, up from 88,200 in 2023.

Bitcoin millionaires numbered 85,400 in that 2024 report, while the market had 325 crypto centimillionaires and 28 billionaires. The 2026 figures therefore show fewer millionaires, centimillionaires and billionaires across the digital asset market, although the number of Bitcoin millionaires remains above its 2024 level.

A separate measure of Bitcoin wealth showed similar pressure during 2025. The number of Bitcoin millionaire addresses fell by 7,485 during the year, from 155,569 on Jan. 1 to 148,084 by Dec. 31, according to a Finbold report published in January. Addresses holding at least $10 million in Bitcoin rose from 15,319 to 16,368 over the same period.

Wallet counts cannot be directly compared with Henley's estimate of individual wealthy holders because one person can control multiple addresses.

Despite the decline in the number of wealthy holders, Henley said digital asset ownership continued to expand. Its 2026 report estimated that 742 million people worldwide now hold some amount of crypto, including 371 million Bitcoin holders.

Henley said the crypto wealthy clients approaching the firm have tended to be younger and more internationally mobile than its traditional private clients. The firm described them as the first generation to have built substantial fortunes in an asset class that was not originally tied to a single country.

Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners, said digital assets may move across borders but their owners remain subject to national tax, legal and regulatory systems.

"Crypto may be borderless, but the families who own it are not," Volek said.

Wealthy crypto holders look at residence options

Henley said it has seen rising interest from wealthy digital asset holders seeking advice on residence and citizenship choices as they decide where to base their families and financial affairs.

Similar demand has emerged in offshore wealth planning. A September report found that wealthy crypto investors have increasingly sought offshore trusts for estate planning and tax purposes, although some trustees remain reluctant to accept digital assets because of volatility, custody risks and difficulties verifying the source of funds.

Guenther Dobrauz-Saldapenna, managing partner at Henley & Partners Switzerland, said self-custodied assets can move with their owners much faster than traditional wealth, increasing the role of residence, citizenship and regulatory choices in wealth planning.

Henley's 2026 Crypto Adoption Index ranked Singapore first among 36 jurisdictions assessed on regulation, taxation, infrastructure, innovation and adoption. Singapore retained the top position for a fourth consecutive year and received the index's highest score for innovation and technology.

The United Arab Emirates moved from fifth place last year to second, receiving a 10 out of 10 score for tax friendliness. Hong Kong ranked third, followed by the United States and Switzerland.

Malta placed sixth and recorded the highest regulatory environment score. Thailand, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Bahamas completed the top 10.

New entrants included the Bahamas in 10th place, the Cayman Islands in 12th, Bahrain in 13th, Argentina in 26th, Maldives in 31st, Naoero in 32nd and Paraguay in 35th.

Crypto wealth faces tighter reporting rules

Tax authorities are preparing to receive more information about crypto holdings and transactions as international reporting systems take effect.

Henley's report said 76 jurisdictions had signed up to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, with the first information exchanges among 46 jurisdictions expected in September 2027.

The number of participating jurisdictions has continued to change as more countries commit to the framework. Argentina committed to CARF this month and plans to begin automatic exchanges of crypto transaction information by September 2029, bringing the committed group to 77 jurisdictions.

Under CARF, covered crypto service providers collect customer identification and transaction information that can be exchanged between participating tax authorities. Data collection began in January 2026 across 48 jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and European Union countries.

The framework does not capture every form of onchain activity. Chainalysis estimated in August that potentially taxable onchain crypto activity exceeded $457 billion globally in 2025, while transactions within the practical scope of international reporting rules accounted for roughly 14% of the identified total. The remaining activity included decentralized exchange transactions, peer to peer transfers, crypto income and payments.

Henley said growing reporting requirements are becoming another consideration for internationally mobile crypto holders when choosing where to live and structure their affairs.

Volek said investors are increasingly looking at regulatory quality, courts, safety and international access when assessing jurisdictions. "Crypto may move across borders with unprecedented ease, but its owners still need to decide which jurisdictions they want to be connected to," he said.

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