As Forbes reveals the cryptocurrency heavyweights, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of the exchange Binance, has been named the wealthiest person in the industry for the third consecutive year. Zhao, sometimes referred to as CZ, is now the 50th wealthiest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $33 billion, up from $10.5 billion the previous year. Forbes revealed that CZ, who is now the highest cryptocurrency gainer in terms of dollars since last year, gained most of his wealth via his controlling share in Binance, which continues to be the industry's largest global trading venue by volume, despite pleading guilty to U.S. money laundering charges in November.
Now that the formal crypto winter is over, the market has seen a notable upturn in value. The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has had an amazing rise, more than tripling in value in the last year. It peaked around $73,000 in March, the month when exchange-traded funds backed by bitcoin became permitted in the United States. The combined value of all active cryptocurrencies has increased by 170%, adding around $1.6 trillion to the market value in the same time frame, according to statistics from CoinGecko. Due to this increase in value, a brand-new class of billionaires called "crypto billionaires" has emerged.
At least 17 people have made it to the Forbes 2024 World's Billionaires list as a result of their cryptocurrency-related investments and business endeavors. These cryptocurrency billionaires claim a combined net worth of $93 billion, which is made up of their estimated holdings of private assets as well as publicly traded stocks. Compared to the nine cryptocurrency billionaires identified last year, whose combined fortune more than doubled from $37 billion, this is a considerable gain. The creator and former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, continues to be the richest person in cryptocurrency for the third year in a row. Zhao's net worth has soared to an estimated $33 billion, up from $10.5 billion the year before, while facing legal problems, including admitting guilt to US money laundering accusations in November.
His ownership of the majority of Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world based on trade volume, accounts for most of his income. The CEOs of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor and Coinbase Brian Armstrong are two more prominent winners. Saylor's estimated net worth increased to $4.4 billion from $760 million the year before as a result of MicroStrategy's significant bitcoin investments.
Armstrong's net worth has also increased significantly, from $2.2 billion to an estimated $11.2 billion, thanks to Coinbase's shares' remarkable performance, which has seen them more than triple in value over the last 12 months. Furthermore, newcomers like Giancarlo Devasini, Paolo Ardoino, Jean-Louis van der Velde, and Stuart Hoegner—all well-known shareholders of Tether, a contentious but extremely successful stablecoin issuer—are welcomed to Forbes' annual billionaires ranking. Along with well-known names like the Winklevoss twins, well-known venture capitalist Tim Draper, and Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb, the list also highlights the increasing power and riches in the cryptocurrency space.
These are 2024's top 10 cryptocurrency millionaires 1. Changpeng Zhao's net worth is $33 billion (compared to $10.5 billion) and comes from Binance. His connection with Binance, the top cryptocurrency trading site, is the main source of his fortune. Zhao agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a settlement last year while facing legal challenges, including federal money laundering accusations brought by the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
He also consented to resign as CEO of Binance, and after entering a guilty plea, he would not be allowed to work for the firm for three years. His wealth is still very much the same despite these losses. Zhao's estimated ownership share in Binance, based on company records and conversations with former staff members, is roughly 90% and is valued at $32.5 billion. With the largest trading volume worldwide, Binance is still the market leader in cryptocurrency exchanges. According to Forbes' calculations, Binance made over $9 billion in sales in the previous year.
Forbes used the price-to-sales multiple of publicly listed competitor Coinbase to calculate Binance's market worth. It then made additional adjustments for things like Binance's concentrated ownership, possible legal problems, and key-man risks related to Zhao's exit.
2. Armstrong, Brian $11.2 billion in net worth (compared to $2.2 billion). Origin of riches: With an 18% investment in the firm, Coinbase Armstrong—who co-founded the company with Fred Ehrsam in 2013—has the highest individual ownership. With a market valuation of about $60 billion, the Bitcoin exchange's stock has risen by 50% so far this year and more than treble over the previous year. Armstrong has used an automatic 10b5-1 trading strategy to conduct transactions of Coinbase shares worth more than $170 million since November. Giancarlo Devasini, the third $9.2 billion is the net worth (down from $4 billion in July). Origin of riches: The Chief Financial Officer and biggest individual stakeholder of Tether, the biggest stablecoin issuer in the cryptocurrency space, is probably Tether Devasini. Stablecoins are a kind of cryptocurrency that is used as a means of exchange and are correlated with the value of the US dollar or other stable assets.
The business made $6.2 billion in earnings last year, mostly from increased interest rates on clients' collateral, with over 100 billion Tether tokens in circulation. Devasini is said to possess around 47% of Tether; Forbes valued the company using the average price-to-earnings ratio of several publicly traded mid-tier banks and asset managers.
4. Saylor, Michael Net worth: $760 million compared to $4.4 billion. Money sources: Bitcoin, MicroStrategy Based on percentage increase, Saylor is the crypto millionaire with the highest gain within this year's group. In comparison to the previous year, the shares of MicroStrategy, the software company he established in the 1990s and recently turned into a Bitcoin investment platform, had increased by around 500%. Based on information provided by its Chief Financial Officer, the company now has almost 193,000 bitcoins, making it the largest corporate bitcoin holder in the world. Saylor's bitcoin holdings are also significant. He revealed in 2021 that he has 17,732 bitcoins, which he purchased at an average of $9,882 apiece.
He also announced at the beginning of the year that he was selling off around $200 million worth of MicroStrategy shares, which he is now doing.
5. Ardoino Paolo $3.9 billion net worth as of July, up from $1.8 billion. The source of wealth is Tether Arduino is presently the CEO of Tether, serving as the company's spokesperson and purportedly owning 20% of the business. He first became a part of the Tether ecosystem in 2014 when he joined Bitfinex, an allied company, where he worked as a senior software developer. As a computer programmer, Arduino had valuable experience in startup environments during his previous employment.
6. Van der Velde, Jean-Louis ($3.9 billion net worth as of July, up from $1.8 billion) Riches source: Tether Van der Velde, who once served as Tether's CEO, now serves as a symbolic leader in charge of managing Tether's vital connections with banks and government agencies. It is said that he owns about twenty percent of the business. When Van der Velde left the Netherlands in 1985 to pursue higher study in Taiwan, his adventure officially began. After completing his studies, he was instrumental in co-founding many IT and technology firms in Asia before joining Tether. He is currently a resident of Hong Kong.
7. Larsen Chris's Net wealth increased to $3.2 billion from $2.2 billion. Wealth source: XRP and Ripple. Larsen was instrumental in the founding of Ripple in 2012, which sought to simplify international payments by employing the cryptocurrency XRP.
Even though Larsen stepped down as Ripple's CEO at the end of 2016, he remains still the company's executive chairman. According to current secondary market statistics that Forbes obtained, Larsen owns an 18% ownership share in Ripple, which is estimated by investors to be worth $3.8 billion. According to Forbes estimates, he also has a sizable reserve of XRP totaling more than 2.8 billion tokens, as well as close to $1 billion in cash and assets, most of which come from earlier XRP transactions.
8. Fred Ehrsam Net wealth increased to $3.2 billion from $930 million. Riches from Coinbase and Paradigm Ehrsam and Brian Armstrong collaborated to launch Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, in 2012. Ehrsam continues to control around 5% of the company's equity and holds a position on the board after leaving his operational role in 2017.
After working at Coinbase, Ehrsam co-founded Paradigm in 2018, a cryptocurrency investment company that currently manages more than $8 billion in assets.
9. Roszak Matthew's Net wealth increased to $3.1 billion from $1.1 billion. Money source: Ethereum, Bitcoin Since he was an early follower of Bitcoin investing in 2010, Roszak's financial portfolio has mostly benefited from his earliest cryptocurrency ventures. His fortune is the result of his well-timed purchases in a variety of digital assets, including Ethereum and Binance's native coin, BNB. Furthermore, Bloq, a blockchain firm that specializes in investing in other cryptocurrency projects and offering consulting services for blockchain projects, is actively managed by Roszak. Coinbase has returned to profitability even though its revenue for the previous year was only $2.9 billion, down from $3.1 billion in 2022 and $7.8 billion in 2021—the last major spike in bitcoin prices. Coinbase produced a net income of $100 million in its most recent fiscal year while declaring a $2.6 billion financial loss in 2022.
10. Jed McCaleb $2.9 billion is the net worth (vs. $2.4 billion) | XRP sales are the source of riches McCaleb was a trailblazer in the early days of cryptocurrencies and had a big impact on the development of the sector. In 2010, he established Mt. Gox, the first Bitcoin exchange, which was a turning point in the history of the industry. Even though he only sold the exchange a year later, his contributions helped to shape the development of trading in digital currencies.
Then, in 2012, McCaleb co-founded Ripple, although he left the firm soon after because of conflicts with his fellow founders. The majority of the 9 billion XRP coins he received as a co-founder of Ripple were sold, and this is how he made most of his money. In 2022, McCaleb brought a halt to his sales of XRP, thereby ending his association with the cryptocurrency. Further establishing McCaleb's clout in the blockchain arena was his 2014 founding of Stellar, a direct rival to Ripple. At the moment, he actively supports and promotes Vast, a space exploration firm, using his time and money.
