# Understanding the richlist

> What the richlist shows, how to read it across both chains, and what it does and doesn't tell you.

The **[richlist](/learn/glossary#richlist)** is one of the most-viewed pages on any explorer. It's simple to read but easy to over-interpret, so it's worth knowing exactly what it shows.

## What it ranks

The richlist ranks **addresses by balance**, largest first. Quantascan's richlist is **cross-chain**: it interleaves addresses from both [QRL Legacy and QRL 2.0](/learn/qrl-legacy-vs-qrl2) into a single ranking, with a column showing which chain each address belongs to.

To make that ranking fair, balances are **[normalised](/learn/units-shor-quanta-planck)** to a common unit before sorting — otherwise a QRL 2.0 balance stored in Planck would dwarf an equivalent QRL Legacy balance stored in Shor, purely because of units. Percentages are shown against the combined cross-chain supply.

## Addresses, not people

The single most important caveat: **the richlist ranks addresses, not people.** Two facts make the difference:

- **One person, many addresses.** Nothing stops a holder from spreading funds across many addresses, so a single owner can appear as many small entries — or not near the top at all.
- **One address, many people.** An exchange or custodian pools thousands of customers' coins into a few wallets. Those addresses show enormous balances that **aren't owned by one person at all**.

So the richlist is best read as a **distribution snapshot** — how concentrated or spread out the supply is — not a leaderboard of the wealthiest individuals.

## Labels help

To reduce confusion, Quantascan **labels** known addresses where it can — exchanges, mining pools, contracts, the deposit contract, and so on. A large balance marked as an exchange wallet means something very different from an unlabelled one. Where an address is identified, its [wallet classification](/distribution) (for example exchange, mining pool, or contract) adds useful context about what the balance represents.

## What it can and can't tell you

**It can** show:

- how concentrated the supply is at the top,
- which large holders are exchanges or contracts (where labelled), and
- how distribution shifts over time.

**It can't** tell you:

- who the people behind addresses are,
- how many distinct holders exist (one entity may hold many addresses), or
- intent — a large balance might be a custodian, a treasury, or a long-term holder.

## Where to go next

- [Units: Shor, Quanta and Planck](/learn/units-shor-quanta-planck) — why amounts are normalised.
- [Reading an address page](/learn/reading-an-address-page) — drilling into a single entry.
- [QRL tokenomics and supply](/learn/qrl-tokenomics-and-supply) — the supply the richlist divides up.