The Biggest Bitcoin Jackpots of All Time
From 259 to 11,000 Bitcoin: that's how many gamblers cashed out at crypto casinos.
From 259 to 11,000 Bitcoin: that's how many gamblers cashed out at crypto casinos. What happened to their winnings remains a mystery.
Bitcoin jackpots have let gamblers win huge amounts over the years, as long as they've cashed out. According to a recent list of the biggest crypto winnings of all time, Nakowa is on top: he won in September 2013 just over 11,000 Bitcoin, the largest payout of all time. If he had sold at the all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021, he would have been nearly a billionaire.
The win at that time: $759 million. Today his jackpot would still be worth $330 million. However, he would owe almost $122 million in taxes.
Bitcoin jackpot winners stay anonymous
The smallest stake with the biggest win: In February 2017, a player bet 0.1 Bitcoin and cashed out 259 Bitcoin. Current value: more than $10 million. Most participants in these games stayed anonymous. So it's still not known what happened to their winnings.
In November 2013 Bitcoin first cracked the $1,000 mark. Nakowa may have already sold his coins then. He wouldn't be the first to look back with regret and think: I should have held onto my coins.
Crypto casinos have been around longer, but they've exploded since the 2020 pandemic. The independent site Casino Guru counted 4,200 websites in 2022 alone. Many operate in grey legal areas, with dubious licenses and are extremely risky: gambling can be addictive. And for every winner there are dozens of losers.
Meanwhile, the popular streaming platform Twitch has become a playground for crypto-casino gamblers. Crypto-gambling streamers sometimes have millions of subscribers. Many streamers have sponsorship deals with casinos.
"Many people claim that these streamers play with fake money or that the playing money is provided to them by the casinos," warns a data analyst at Casino Guru, Peter Jesko. "I am convinced this is the case. But it's very hard to find direct evidence." Meanwhile, Twitch also cracks down on gambling.
