Many billionaires and millionaires have emerged as a result of the rise of cryptocurrencies. These individuals understood the promise of the technology and took measured risks in order to amass their fortune.
A select group of people have emerged as major actors in the cryptocurrency sector since its inception, amassing substantial fortune in the process.
The cryptocurrency boom has created more billionaires this year than in 2023, with 17 emerging, according to Forbes’ 2024 World Billionaires List, up from nine in 2023.
The top 10 of them are as follows, gathered by the digital news platform:
- Changpeng Zhao (Binance)
Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, is a well-known Chinese-Canadian businessman who founded and acts as CEO of Binance. Based on trading volume, Binance is currently the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally.
Based on company records and interviews with former staff members, CZ’s share in Binance is valued at approximately $33 billion, or a startling $32.5 billion.
- Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)
Armstrong, who together with Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase in 2013, owns the largest share (18%) in the business.
Brian Armstrong’s fortune has expanded thanks to Coinbase, which has benefited from the growing acceptance and value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin through larger trading volumes, transaction fees, and exchange commissions.
- Giancarlo Devasini (Tether)
In addition to holding the position of Chief Financial Officer, Devasini is most likely the biggest individual stakeholder in Tether, the biggest cryptocurrency issuer (Stablecoin).
Stablecoins are virtual currencies that are mostly used as a medium of exchange and are based on the value of regular assets like the US dollar. $9.2 billion is his estimated net worth.
- Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy, Bitcoin)
As the leading cryptocurrency billionaire of the year with MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor has made enormous gains thanks to the roughly 500% increase in MicroStrategy’s shares after he turned the company into a bitcoin-focused organisation.
Currently, the company is the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holder with over 193,000 bitcoins, while Saylor expects to sell about $200 million worth of MicroStrategy stock. Saylor personally has 17,732 bitcoins.
- Paolo Ardoino (Tether)
Paolo Ardoino, who has about a 20% ownership position in Tether, serves as the company’s CEO and public face.
After developing his computer programming skills at several businesses, he first worked as a senior software developer at Bitfinex, Tether’s sister company, in 2014.
- Jean-Louis van der Velde (Tether)
The current CEO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, and Van der Velde, the former CEO of Tether, are estimated to have the same net worth and ownership.
Both are thought to own 20% of the company and are vital in overseeing Tether’s strategic ties with banks and regulators. Van der Velde is a well-known representative of the corporation.
- Chris Larsen (Ripple, XRP)
The estimated net worth of the co-founder and ex-CEO of Ripple is $3.2 billion. In addition to purportedly possessing over 2.8 billion XRP tokens and close to $1 billion in cash assets, he apparently owns an 18% share in the business.
- Fred Ehrsam (Coinbase, Paradigm)
Along with Brian Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase in 2012. He still sits on the board and owns roughly 5% of the company’s equity despite departing in 2017. He was a co-founder of Paradigm in 2018, a cryptocurrency investment firm that currently oversees more than $8 billion in assets.
Coinbase returned to profitability with $100 million in net profits last year, despite revenue dropping to $2.9 billion from $7.8 billion during the previous cryptocurrency price bubble in 2021. This contrasts significantly with a $2.6 billion net loss in 2022.
- Matthew Roszak (Bitcoin, Ethereum)
Since 2010, Matthew Roszak has been one of the early adopters of Bitcoin and has earned an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion, mostly from his early investments in different cryptocurrency businesses.
- Jed McCaleb (XRP sales)
The first significant Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, was formed in 2010 by early cryptocurrency pioneer Jed McCaleb, who later sold it before it was compromised.
He made the majority of his money by selling the 9 billion XRP tokens he was given when he co-founded Ripple in 2012, but he left the company due to conflicts with other founders. After creating Stellar, a rival to Ripple, in 2014, McCaleb sold his last XRP holdings in 2022 and is now concentrating on funding Vast, an initiative to explore space.
