Who are the top players in Ethereum?

07-24

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Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News

Ethereum has recently shown strong performance, achieving four consecutive weekly green candles and breaking through $3,800, creating a new stage high.

Currently, the market buying power is surging, with institutions, listed companies, and whales continuously accumulating ETH, even causing tight off-market liquidity. On July 17, Wintermute co-founder Evgeny Gaevoy revealed that "there is almost no ETH willing to be sold at the Wintermute OTC counter," highlighting the tight market supply and demand.

This phenomenon indicates that market demand for ETH far exceeds supply, and if this trend continues, ETH price may further rise. So, if Ethereum truly reaches $10,000, which groups will directly benefit?

1. ETH Large Holders and Validators: Whales, institutions, funds, listed companies, and project parties' ETH reserves will see significant appreciation.

2. Exchanges, Custody Institutions, and OTC: Trading activity will surge, with transaction fee income skyrocketing.

3. Ethereum Spot ETF Issuers and Holders.

4. DeFi Ecosystem: (Re)staking protocols, DEX, lending protocols, and other core sectors.

5. Layer 2: Potential to drive Layer 2 solution adoption rates, with token value and transaction revenue expected to grow.

6. Infrastructure: Wallets, node service providers, and other ecosystem cornerstones will expand with user scale, achieving dual growth in business volume and revenue.

7. NFT Market: Market heat may lead to a new round of speculation in the NFT market.

This article will compile data from multiple sources including Strategic ETH Reserve, public company and project data, and the Arkham platform, focusing on listed companies, exchanges (with own ETH), and Web3 projects (holding more than 1000 ETH) that view Ethereum as a strategic reserve.

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KR1 plc was established in March 2016, a digital asset company focusing on decentralized technology, listed on the Aquis Securities Exchange in London. KR1 plc primarily focuses on staking activities on PoS networks. According to its financial report ending May 31, 2025, it holds DOT (16.54 million pounds), TIA (12.28 million pounds), stETH (10.39 million pounds), LDO (7.26 million pounds), ATOM (6.88 million pounds), RED (6.80 million pounds), etc.

According to Strategic ETH Reserve data, KR1 plc holds 5,505 ETH.

Exodus

The listed self-custody wallet company Exodus currently holds 2,550 ETH.

Thumzup

Nasdaq-listed Thumzup Media Corporation is a digital marketing and financial innovation company. On July 17, Thumzup announced that its board has authorized the company to hold up to $250 million in cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, LTC, and stablecoin USDC.

The Ether Machine

On July 21, blank check company Dynamix announced it is preparing to merge with another entity to form a new company called "The Ether Machine". The merged company plans to hold over $1.5 billion in ETH. Among this, co-founder and chairman Andrew Keys initially invested about $645 million (equivalent to 169,984 ETH).

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In July 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Pulsechain, PulseX, and Hex founder Richard Heart for allegedly selling unregistered securities, claiming he raised over $1 billion through unregistered securities issuance and sales in violation of federal securities laws, and accused Richard Heart of misappropriating funds for personal luxury consumption. However, in March 2025, according to Reuters, a U.S. judge dismissed the SEC's fraud lawsuit against the HEX founder.

In the first week of March 2024, the PulseChain Sacrifice wallet completely converted over $640 million worth of DAI into 170,683 ETH, at an average price of $3,768 per ETH. However, Strategic ETH Reserve data shows that PulseChain's Ethereum holdings are 16,630 ETH.

WLFI

On July 18, according to Lookonchain monitoring, Trump's family crypto project WLFI again spent 3 million USDC to purchase 861 ETH. Currently, it has accumulated 70,143 ETH, with an average price of $3,249.

Golem Foundation

Golem Network is an open-source, decentralized computing platform that raised 820,000 ETH through an ICO in 2016. It currently holds 10,284 ETH in its Golem: Multisig address. However, Strategic ETH Reserve data shows Golem Network holds 101,300 ETH.

Gnosis DAO

Founded in 2015, Gnosis is dedicated to building Ethereum ecosystem applications and key infrastructure, including Safe and Cow protocols. Gnosis's actively reported ETH holdings in Strategic ETH Reserve are 66,600 ETH, approximately $210 million. However, Gnosis's official Treasury data shows total treasury funds of $411 million, with Ethereum accounting for nearly 30% (about $120 million).

Lido DAO

As a leading LST protocol in the Ethereum ecosystem, Lido DAO joined the Strategic ETH Reserve list on April 15, holding 32,248 ETH at the time, and currently has an Ethereum reserve of 35,700 ETH.

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KPK helps various institutions custody, manage, and develop their on-chain assets. According to the KPK June financial report, KPK holds approximately 1,700 ETH (mainly ETH staking assets). However, Strategic ETH Reserve data shows KPK holds about 1,000 ETH.

Country / Region

United States

According to Arkham data, the US government currently holds 59,951 ETH.

Michigan

A file submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by Michigan at the end of 2024 shows that the state holds nearly $10.07 million in Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF, $1.12 million in Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF, and $6.98 million in ARK 21SHARES BITCOIN ETF.

Strategic ETH Reserve data shows that Michigan holds 4,000 ETH.

The data in this article mainly comes from: Strategic ETH Reserve website, exchange reserve proof websites, project public reports, or Arkham data.