In 12 months, Bitcoin made 145,000 new millionaires: an unprecedented dynamic

Crypto, kingmaker or wallet emptier? Bets are running high. In obscure forums, apocalypse prophets meet the evangelists of “to the moon”. But beyond the debates, the numbers are stubborn. The Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth Report 2025 revealed a brutal fact: bitcoin, long regarded as a speculative bubble, has shaped a new financial aristocracy. In just one year, 145,000 new BTC millionaires have emerged, redrawing the global chessboard of wealth.

Bitcoin, engine of a new global elite

There were already 219 million bitcoiners in 2023, but the year 2025 changed scale. The data is spectacular: 241,700 crypto millionaires recorded in 2025, 40% more than in 2024. In this wave, bitcoin plays a central role, with 145,100 new millionaires (+70%). Ethereum and other cryptos do not compete. Even more striking, the concentration at the top: 254 BTC centimillionaires (+63%) and 17 BTC billionaires (+55%).

Philipp Baumann, founder of Z22 Technologies, insists: 

Bitcoin becomes the foundation of a parallel financial system, where it is no longer just a speculative investment on the rise of fiat currencies, but the base currency for accumulating wealth.

The era when bitcoin was just a risky bet is over. It becomes a benchmark patrimonial currency, used by a globalized elite that chooses jurisdiction, residence, and taxation as strategic variables.

Crypto ETFs, discreet catalysts of the financial explosion

This new crypto aristocracy was not born by chance. It relies on a major institutional turning point. In 2025, American spot Bitcoin ETFs rose from $37.3 billion to $60.6 billion in assets under management. Ether experienced a rapid growth, its ETFs quadrupling to reach $13.4 billion. Large investors – hedge funds, asset managers, private equity firms – multiplied their positions.

Townsend Lansing, from CoinShares, confirms: 

Driven by favorable regulatory winds, institutional adoption has not only arrived — it is exploding.

These massive flows changed the game. Traditional finance, long skeptical, has implicitly endorsed bitcoin. Result: the total capitalization of the crypto market jumped to $3.3 trillion in June 2025. 

A striking contrast remains: the crypto user base increased by only 5%, reaching 590 million, while it is the institutional capital that drives the momentum.

Bitcoin versus fiat: a scarcity that attracts wealth

Beyond the numbers, the issue is philosophical. Bitcoin, limited to 21 million units, opposes programmed scarcity to the inflation of fiat currencies. Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3, emphasizes that in the long term, fiat currencies are condemned to infinity, while bitcoin, on the contrary, is strictly limited to 21 million units.

This asymmetry attracts wealthy crypto investors. It transforms BTC into intergenerational wealth insurance, an asset that escapes borders and classic tax regimes. The Henley Crypto Adoption Index shows that Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Switzerland, and the Emirates are the favorite destinations of these digital fortunes.

Five key markers of 2025

• 241,700 crypto millionaires counted worldwide;
• 145,100 new bitcoin millionaires in one year;
• $3.3 trillion global crypto market valuation;
• $60.6 billion: Assets under management of US Bitcoin ETFs;
• 590 million crypto users worldwide (+5%).

This dynamic demonstrates a tipping point: bitcoin and other cryptos are no longer marginal but central in global finance.

Bitcoin continues to produce fortunes. Michael Saylor is a living example: the recent surge of his holdings boosted his fortune in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, rising to 491st worldwide. A wealth creator, bitcoin confirmed in 2025 its ability to reshape the economic hierarchy.