A crypto billionaire is someone who has made more than $1 billion in net worth either through crypto businesses or through crypto investments. What sets them apart is the courage they have shown in taking the risk of entering a budding sector struggling due to numerous challenges, including extreme volatility and regulatory uncertainty.
But who stands at the top?
2024 has been a remarkable year for the cryptocurrency market, with a staggering 99.4% growth since the start of the year. This growth comes as the political environment in the U.S. becomes more favorable toward the industry, and Bitcoin reaches the $100K milestone. Experts predict even more growth in the coming years. With this progress, many crypto entrepreneurs have seen their wealth grow substantially.
Naturally, the question arises: Who are the key crypto billionaires in 2024?
Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, is the richest crypto billionaire, with a net worth of $65.4B. Zhao’s journey into the crypto world began after gaining experience at companies like Bloomberg and Blockchain.com. He founded Binance in 2017, which quickly became one of the largest crypto exchanges globally.
Despite facing legal issues this year, including a four-month prison sentence and a $50 million fine for violating U.S. banking laws, Zhao was released in September and remains a dominant figure in the industry.
With a net worth of $12.1B, Brian Armstrong, the co-founder of popular crypto exchange Coinbase, stays in the second position on the list. In the early stage of his career, he was a software engineer. He worked for several tech giants, including IBM and Airbnb. His destiny changed when he co-founded Coinbase in 2012. In mid-2021, his company was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
With a trading volume of $2,236,072,410, Coinbase remains the most prominent crypto exchange in the United States.
Giancarlo Devasini, co-founder of Bitfinex and Tether, is third on the list, with a net worth of over $9.2B. Devasini’s wealth is largely tied to his stakes in Tether (the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap) and Bitfinex, a leading exchange. He reportedly owns more than 47% of Tether, which plays a significant role in his substantial fortune.
Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, ranks fourth with a net worth of $9B. Saylor is well-known for his aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy, which has paid off as Bitcoin’s value soared in 2024. MicroStrategy currently holds over 444,000 BTC, making it the largest public holder of Bitcoin. Saylor’s 9.9% stake in the company also continues to grow in value alongside the rise of Bitcoin.
Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple Labs, is in fifth place with a net worth of $8B. Ripple’s XRP token, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, $128,422,395,294, has been central to Larsen’s wealth. Ripple remains a leader in blockchain-based payment solutions, and the success of XRP contributes significantly to Larsen’s fortune.
With a net worth of $3.4B, Fred Ehrsam, a co-founder of Ethereum, is in the sixth position on the list. The real crypto journey of Ehrsam, who started his career as a trader in Goldman Sachs’s foreign exchange division, commenced when he co-founded Coinbase in 2012.
In 2017, he left the Coinbase team to start a crypto venture capital firm, Paradigm. Reports suggest that the venture capital firm has more than $8 billion in AUM in projects such as Uniswap and Flashbots.
Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group, takes the seventh spot with a net worth of $3.2B. Silbert, a former investment banker, played a key role in Bitcoin’s early adoption through his investment vehicle BIT. His company, Digital Currency Group, has become a major player in the crypto investment space.
Jed McCaleb, a key figure behind Mt. Gox, Ripple, and Stellar, ranks eighth with a net worth of $2.9B. McCaleb was involved in Mt. Gox, the first major Bitcoin exchange, before moving to Ripple as a co-founder. After leaving Ripple in 2014, he created Stellar, a competitor to Ripple. The sale of his original 9 billion XRP tokens has helped boost his wealth.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the well-known twins behind Gemini, have a net worth of $2.7B and sit in ninth place. The twins gained fame in 2009 for their lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their idea for Facebook. They received a $65 million settlement, which they invested in Bitcoin. Later, they founded the Gemini exchange, which has helped grow their fortune.
Devin Finzer, co-founder of OpenSea, holds the tenth position with a net worth of $2.2B. Finzer entered the crypto world in 2017 when he launched OpenSea, an NFT marketplace that saw massive growth in 2021. The success of OpenSea has allowed Finzer to join the ranks of the top crypto billionaires.
With the crypto industry poised for even greater growth in the coming years, we may see more billionaires rise through innovative ventures and investments. Names like Alex Atallah, Kim Hyoung-Nyon, Nikil Viswanathan, and Joe Lau are currently making waves and could soon join the list of top crypto billionaires.
The crypto space is filled with opportunities, and it will be interesting to see who emerges as the next big player here!
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