Crypto boom creates 69,000 new millionaires in the past 12 months

Investing

The number of ultra-wealthy crypto individuals is rising sharply, thanks in large part to the surge in Bitcoin, a new report from Henley & Partners has revealed.
Crypto millionaires surge 40% in 12 months fuelled by Bitcoin holders. Image source: Getty Images
Key Takeaways
  • There are 241,700 crypto millionaires worldwide, Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report 2025 has revealed. That’s up 40% in 12 months.
  • Centi-millionaires (those with crypto portfolios worth more than US$100 million) are up 38% to 450, and there are now 36 crypto billionaires (up 29%).
  • It coincides with a dramatic surge in Bitcoin millionaires (up 70% year-on-year to 145,100), and a booming total market valuation of US$3.3 trillion (up 45% in 12 months).
  • Singapore ranked top for crypto adoption, when looking at factors including public adoption, infrastructure adoption, regulatory environments and tax-friendliness. Hong Kong ranked second and the United States ranked third. Australia ranked 10th with a score of 36 out of 60.
Key background

As the price of Bitcoin hovers steadily around its all-time-high (at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency was priced at AU$172,312), the number of crypto-millionaires (those with cryptocurrency holdings of US$1 million or more) has increased 40% in the last 12 months to 241,700.

Centi-millionaires, or those with crypto holdings of US$100 million or more, are up 38% to 450 year-on-year, and there are 36 crypto billionaires, those with holdings of US$1 billion or more, up 29% in the same timeframe.

But according to Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth Report for 2025, the surge in ultra-wealthy crypto-holders also coincides with a regulatory turning point for the industry, highlighted by the first-ever cryptocurrencies launched by a US President and First Lady. (That’s US President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP coin and First Lady Melania Trump’s $MELANIA coin, which they launched in January this year. At the time of writing, $TRUMP was worth about US$7.70, and had a market cap of US$1.54 billion.)

Crucial quote

“While roughly US$14.4 trillion worth of wealth crossed national borders in 2024, the entire architecture of modern finance assumes that money has a home address — but cryptocurrency doesn’t,” group head of private clients at Henley & Partners, Dominic Volek, says.

“For millennia, storing wealth meant anchoring it to a place. Even with digital banking, you needed a residential address and tax ID just to open an account. Today, cryptocurrency has made geography optional — with nothing more than 12 memorized words, an individual can secure a billion dollars in Bitcoin, instantly accessible from Zurich or Zhengzhou alike.”

What to watch for

The rise in wealthy crypto-holders is fuelling a surge in mobility-driven investors turning to citizenship by investment, the report finds.

“The 145,100 Bitcoin millionaires alone (representing 60% of all crypto millionaires) increasingly pursue investment migration opportunities in jurisdictions like Malta and the UAE — nations that combine sophisticated financial infrastructure with forward-thinking digital asset frameworks,” Volek says. “For these investors, alternative residence and citizenship programs offer legal certainty and access to innovation hubs where their crypto wealth can interface productively with traditional banking and investment systems.”

It also looks like crypto is becoming the new favourite alternative asset class: “In previous decades, precious stones like diamonds were widely used to move money discreetly across borders thanks to their portability. Today, crypto and gold have largely taken their place as the modern stores of portable wealth,” Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth.

Interesting fact

Singapore was ranked at the top country for cryptocurrency adoption in Henley & Partners 2025 Crypto Adoption Index, with a score of 48.4 out of 60. The Index looked at factors like public adoption, infrastructure adoption, innovation and technology, regulatory environment, economic factors and tax-friendliness. Singapore was awarded the top spot thanks to its regulatory framework and infrastructure, with The Monetary Authority of Singapore praised for balancing innovation with compliance. Here’s the top 10:

  1. Singapore (48.4)
  2. Hong Kong (45.7)
  3. USA (43.4)
  4. Switzerland (43.1)
  5. UAE (42.9)
  6. Malta (40.9)
  7. UK (40.4)
  8. Canada (39.6)
  9. Thailand (37.1)
  10. Australia (36.0)
Tangent

Singapore isn’t just the top crypto-adopting country – its citizens also have the most powerful passport, according to Henley & Partners’ famous powerful passports index. In fact, Singaporeans can travel visa-free to 195 countries in 2025.

Australia’s passport was 6th in the rankings, tied with Greece, allowing us visa-free entry into 189 countries.

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Avatar of Anastasia Santoreneos
Journalist & List Editor
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