The 50 Richest People in Crypto

Relatively than the Musks, Zuckerbergs and Gates Ellisons of the world,  The Crypto Rich List compiled by tradersofcrypto.com, includes a wide selection of gamers inside the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Builders, traders, and founders of buying and selling exchanges, which oil the wheels of the crypto ecosystem. Solely a few names listed within the rankings have mentioned or disclosed their precise holding quantities of digital currencies.

The rankings are additionally indicative of the comparatively nascent nature of the {industry} and contains people who based firms and cash, however are thought-about billionaires and multi-millionaires in the present day based mostly on market valuations, buying and selling volumes, and holdings in cryptocurrencies. It’s a close to certainty that we’ve missed some folks and that a few of our estimates are large of the mark.

1. Satoshi Nakamoto

The true id of Satoshi Nakamoto is unknown, however they’re credited as the one that first developed Bitcoin. The most recent estimates predict that Nakamoto has 1 million Bitcoin, which in in the present day’s cash interprets to about $60 billion, making him/her/them by far the richest in crypto.

2. Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried is the richest individual we all know in crypto, due to his FTX change and Alameda Analysis buying and selling agency. Bankman-Fried launched FTX in 2019, constructed “by merchants, for merchants,” it is one of many main exchanges for getting and promoting crypto derivatives. FTX raised $900 million from the likes of Coinbase Ventures and SoftBank in July 2021 at an $18 billion valuation, serving to make Bankman-Fried one of many richest folks beneath 30 in historical past. His private web price is estimated at $26.5 billion.

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3. Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong is the chief government of Coinbase International, the most important cryptocurrency change in america. A former Airbnb software program engineer, Armstrong cofounded Coinbase in San Francisco in 2012 with former forex dealer Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase went public in a direct providing on Nasdaq on April 14, 2021, briefly reaching a market capitalization of $100 billion. Armstrong owns a stake of about 19% in Coinbase, and his estimated web price is $14.7 billion.

4. Chris Larsen

Chris Larsen is the co-founder and chairman of crypto fee protocol Ripple and the cryptocurrency XRP. Ripple counts American Categorical and Santander amongst its 100-plus prospects. Larsen stepped down as Ripple CEO in December 2016 however stays government chairman. His estimated web price is $6 billion.

5. Joseph Lubin

Joseph Lubin is likely one of the founders of Ethereum, he’s additionally the ability behind Consensys which is a blockchain software program which helps builders, enterprises, and other people everywhere in the world in constructing next-generation purposes, launch monetary infrastructure, and entry decentralized net. Lubin is a Canadian entrepreneur who based EthSuisse which is predicated in Switzerland and which contributes to Ethereum. Via EthSuisse, Lubin has been working to increase the capabilities of the blockchain know-how to retailer packages along with knowledge, in addition to facilitate, confirm, or implement the negotiation or efficiency of good contracts. Lubin has additionally been concerned in cross-industry teams to advance options referring to governance points within the blockchain {industry}. As of 2021, he’s estimated to have a private fortune of $5 billion.

6. Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao is the founding father of one of many world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by buying and selling quantity. Zhao was beforehand a member of the staff that developed Blockchain.data and likewise served as chief know-how officer of OKCoin. Binance now boasts over 6 million customers, and the change launched its personal token final yr – Binance coin (BNB) – which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. In February 2018, Forbes Journal positioned him third on its checklist of “The Richest Folks In Cryptocurrency”. As of 2021, he’s thought to have gathered a private fortune of over $5 billion.

7. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss

Equivalent twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss cofounded cryptocurrency change Gemini in 2014; in the present day it processes about $200 million a day in trades. Cameron is Gemini’s president; Tyler is CEO. The previous Olympic rowers are finest identified for accusing Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their concept for a social community. They used a few of their $65 million authorized settlement with the Fb CEO to start out stockpiling Bitcoin. The twins nonetheless personal an estimated 70,000 Bitcoins, along with different digital property. Their private web price  is estimated at $4.3 billion every.

8. Fred Ehrsam

Fred Ehrsam is an American enterprise government and investor who’s the co-founder and managing companion of cryptocurrency funding agency Paradigm. He’s additionally a co-founder of Coinbase together with Brian Armstrong, though doesn’t maintain an energetic position. His estimated web price is $3.5 billion.

9. Micree Zhan

Micree Zhan co-founded Chinese language crypto mining big Bitmain Applied sciences with Jihan Wu in 2013. After a longstanding energy battle with Wu and different Bitmain executives, Zhan was ousted from the agency in October 2019. Bitmain is China’s largest digital forex mining firm, specializing in promoting ASIC-chip miners. Zhan stays its largest shareholder. His estimated individual web price is $3.2 billion.

10. Jed McCaleb

McCaleb was an early pioneer within the blockchain house who helped launch three well-known crypto corporations. In 2010 he created Mt. Gox, the primary main Bitcoin change, which he bought a yr later earlier than it was hacked. McCaleb co-founded Ripple in 2012, however quickly left over reported disagreements with fellow founders. His subsequent enterprise in 2014 was co-founding Stellar, a Ripple competitor that goals to hurry up cross-border funds. Most of McCaleb’s wealth comes from the estimated 3.4 billion XRP he nonetheless holds, from the unique 9 billion XRP he pocketed as a Ripple founder. His estimated web price is $3 billion.

11. Brad Garlinghouse

Brad Garlinghouse is the CEO of blockchain monetary know-how firm Ripple Labs, issuer of XRP. He owns a reported 6.3% stake within the firm, in addition to further allocation package deal in XRP tokens. His private web price is estimated at $3 billion.

12. Michael Saylor

Michael Saylor is an American entrepreneur and the CEO of software program agency MicroStrategy. n October 2020, he disclosed he personally purchased 17,732 bitcoins for $175 million. All through 2020-2021 he steered Microstrategy’s company coffers into bitcoin, utilizing firm money and borrowings to purchase 70,784 bitcoins for $1.1 billion. His private web price is estimated at $2.9 billion.

13. Anthony Di Lorio

Anthony Di Lorio is an Ethereum co-founder. He met Vitalik Buterin at a Bitcoin meetup, which he himself organized in November 2012, and was one of many first those that Ethereum’s creator requested to be a co-founder. However Di Iorio didn’t look like as eager as a number of the different co-founders on the non-profit path that Ethereum adopted, in line with Russo. And he largely took a backseat after this was determined. Di Iorio made the Forbes checklist of the top-20 richest folks in cryptocurrency in 2018, with an estimated web price of $750 million–$1 billion. His private web price is estimated at $2.2 billion.

14. Tim Draper

Tim Draper is a founding companion of enterprise capital agency Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Draper has made a whole lot of VC investments in firms together with Tesla and Theranos, and has made a fortune investing in cryptocurrencies. In 2014, he purchased $18.7 million price of bitcoin that had been confiscated by U.S. Marshals from the shuttered Silk Street black market. These cash are actually price $1.8 billion. Along with his different holdings and property, his estimated private web price is $2 billion.

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15. Barry Silbert

Barry Silbert is the founder and CEO of Digital Forex Group (DCG), a conglomerate of 5 cryptocurrency-focused firms. DCG’s largest income generator: digital asset supervisor Grayscale, which oversees $28 billion price of Bitcoin, Ether and different property. Via its quite a few subsidiaries, DCG has additionally invested in additional than 200 crypto startups. His private web price is estimated at $1.9 billion.

16. Jihan Wu

Jihan Wu is the co-founder and chairman of Chinese language mining-chip big Bitmain Applied sciences. Based in 2013, Bitmain is China’s largest cryptocurrency mining-chip firm. He owns roughly 20% of Bitmain, and his private web price is estimated at $1.8 billion.

17. Vitalik Buterin

Ethereum’s 27-year-old co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has reclaimed the title of the world’s youngest crypto billionaire due to Ether’s newest features. His private web price is estimated at $1.6 billion.

18. Matthew Roszak

The longtime crypto evangelist found Bitcoin in 2011, his early crypto investments have surged in worth in the present day. Roszak is now the chairman of Bloq, a blockchain infrastructure firm, and an early-stage investor in crypto startups. His private web price is estimated at $1.5 billion.

19. Mingxing Xu

Mingxing Xu is a Chinese language entrepreneur and investor, the founder and CEO of OKCoin, a safe cryptocurrency change which makes it straightforward purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and different cryptos. His private web price is estimated at $1.4 billion.

20. Michael Novogratz

Michael Novogratz is an ex-hedge fund supervisor, previously of the funding agency Fortress Funding Group. He’s the present CEO of Galaxy Funding Companions which focuses on cryptocurrency investments similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum. His present web price is estimated at $1.2 billion.

21. Li Lin

Li Lin is the founder and CEO of Huobi, of one of many world’s largest crypto change. Mr. Li acquired a graduate diploma from Tsinghua College and an undergraduate diploma from the College of Tongji. His private web price is estimated at $1.1 billion.

22. Brock Pierce

Brock Pierce is an American entrepreneur and former youngster actor who is thought primarily for his work within the cryptocurrency house. In 2013, Pierce joined brothers Bart and Bradford Stephens in founding blockchain-focused enterprise capital agency Blockchain Capital. He has a private web price of estimated at $1 billion.

23. Matthew Mellon

Matthew Mellon was an inheritor to one in every of America’s banking fortunes, and died in 2018. He started investing in cryptocurrencies in early 2012 regardless of the warnings of family and friends. He was an early investor in XRP, the token launched by Ripple, which goals to create blockchain know-how for giant banks. He as soon as acknowledged that he owns a wide range of different cryptocurrencies and is an energetic investor within the house. His private web price had been estimated at $1 billion.

24. Brendan Blumer

Brendan Blumer was an early investor in blockchain and transitioned to full-time involvement within the house in 2016 when he met enterprise companion Dan Larimer and so they co-founded Block.one, the tech firm producing the EOS.IO distributed ledger software program and the EOS cryptocurrency. EOS did the world’s largest ICO up to now and operates out of Hong Kong the place Blumer is predicated. His private web price is estimated at $750 million.

25. Valery Vavilov

Valery Vavilov is the founder and CEO of Bitfury a number one safety and infrastructure supplier for the Bitcoin blockchain. Rising up in Latvia within the Eighties, programming whiz Vavilov was scarred by the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. “We simply actually misplaced every part,” he says. “Cash turned paper. Patents turn out to be nugatory.” That have formed his thinking–that decentralized frameworks wanted to be designed so folks might all the time retain their property. In 2011, Vavilov based Bitfury, a startup that “mines” Bitcoin, or makes use of computer systems to unravel complicated mathematical issues that add a brand new block of transactions to the blockchain and earn Bitcoin. For 4 years he struggled to boost outdoors capital. “Only a few traders believed on this know-how,” he says. So he used the Bitcoin he mined to fund the enterprise, promoting it as little as $30. Bitfury has generated about 800,000 Bitcoins since its begin, says Vavilov. Primarily based in Amsterdam, his 400-person firm is the final word pick-and-shovel operation to the blockchain increase. His private web price is estimated at $750 million.

26. Dan Larimer

Dan Larimer is a co-founder of Block.one, the tech firm producing the EOS.IO distributed ledger and EOS cryptocurrency. His private web price is estimated at $700 million.

27. Charles Hoskinson

Charles Hoskinson is the CEO and founding father of IOHK, the corporate behind the Cardano blockchain. In 2018, Forbes positioned Hoskinson at #14 on their crypto-rich checklist. Hoskinson acknowledged throughout a current Q&A session that he solely holds crypto and money—not shares, fairness, or gold. Charles Hoskinson’s web price is estimated at $600 million.

28. Roger Ver

Roger Ver is likely one of the earliest traders in Bitcoin. Ver is also referred to as an avid supporter of Bitcoin-related start-up firms, together with Ripple, Blockchain, Bitpay, and Kraken, and cryptocurrency investing. He’s a controversial determine as he was convicted of felony costs for promoting explosives on e-bay. Owing to his outspokenness, Roger Ver is thought to make use of his affect on social media to speak about Bitcoin, which has given him the nickname the Bitcoin Jesus. Nevertheless, lately, Bitcoin Jesus has been supporting Bitcoin Money. In accordance with some studies, Ver has greater than 100,000 bitcoins in his pockets. As of 2021, Roger Ver is considered price over $500 million.

29. Kenji Sasaki

Kenji Sasaki is the co-founder of Cardano, CEO of Subsequent Chymia Consulting and the Company Officer of EmurgoHK. He is likely one of the pioneers of Blockchain know-how within the Asian area. In 2016, Mr. Sasaki began the Cardano challenge, a proof of stake, good contracts blockchain, and its native cryptocurrency ADA. His private web price is estimated at $500 million.

30. Dan Morehead

Dan Morehead is the founding father of Pantera Capital, a pro-crypto hedge fund. Having first purchased Bitcoin again in 2013, Pantera has turn out to be one of many high different hedge funds for cryptocurrency publicity. Dan Morehead regarded one of many high voices within the crypto neighborhood and has amassed a private web price estimated at $500 million.

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31. Blythe Masters

Blythe Masters is a British former government at JPMorgan Chase. She is the previous CEO of Digital Asset Holdings, a monetary know-how agency creating distributed ledger know-how for wholesale monetary providers, and one in every of Digital Asset Holdings’ major merchandise is the so-called Digital Asset Modeling Language, designed to assist specialists create good contracts. Masters is broadly credited because the creator of the credit score default swap as a monetary instrument. She can also be Chairman of the Governing Board of the Linux Basis’s open-source Hyperledger Challenge, member of the Worldwide Advisory Board of Santander Group, and Advisory Board Member of the US Chamber of Digital Commerce. Along with her work, Masters has proved that the crypto {industry} will not be reserved for males. There may be knowledge that reveals that just about half of traders eager about cryptocurrency is made up of girls. As of 2021, Blythe Masters is considered price not less than $500 million.

32. Tune Chi-Hyung

Tune Chi-Hyung is the CEO of Upbeat a number one cryptocurrency change in South Korea. The platform, dealt with about $4.7 billion in day by day transactions in one of many world’s most vital markets for crypto on the finish of final yr. His private web price is estimated at $500 million.

33. Mihai Alisie

Mihai Alisie is an Ethereum co-founder. A graduate in Cybernetic Economics, pre-crypto he was making a residing teaching and enjoying poker in his dwelling nation Romania, when he heard about Bitcoin. He bought in contact with Vitalik Buterin in 2011, and so they determined to arrange Bitcoin Journal, after which labored collectively on Egora, a decentralized eBay for Bitcoin. Alisie helped to determine Ethereum’s Swiss base, incorporating the preliminary startup, opening a checking account for the fledgling crypto firm (not a simple course of), and coping with attorneys and Swiss officers on the authorized framework important for the pre-sale marketing campaign. From his allocations and investments within the house his web price is estimated at $500 million.

34. Jesse Powell

Jesse Powell is a distinguished investor and entrepreneur within the cryptocurrency {industry}. He’s most identified for his position because the co-founder and CEO of the Kraken digital asset change. Powell can also be an avid proponent of cryptocurrency and an opponent of governmental over-regulation of the crypto house. His private web price is estimated at $500 million.

35. Amir Chetrit

The Ethereum co-founder, a US-Israeli nationwide, met Vitalik Buterin at a Bitcoin enterprise convention in Amsterdam in September 2013. After abandoning his laptop science diploma and a brief stint in actual property, he started to doubt the normal finance system and bought into Bitcoin. He met future co-founder Buterin, on the aforementioned convention. His web price is estimated at $450 million.

36. Gavin Wooden

Gavin Wooden is an Ethereum co-founder, a British laptop programmer Wooden was launched to Bitcoin—and, subsequently, Vitalik’s whitepaper—by Bitcoin evangelists Amir Taaki and Johnny Bitcoin. He bought in contact with Buterin, and supplied to write down an implementation of Ethereum within the C++ programming language. He met the primary 5 co-founders in Miami, simply earlier than the North American Bitcoin convention in January 2014, the place Ethereum was resulting from be unveiled. After being the primary to get an Ethereum testnet up and working, he demanded a spot on the high desk. The others agreed, however not with out some pushback. In April 2014, he revealed the Ethereum Yellow Paper, a technical specification of Vitalik’s white paper, and later proposed Ethereum’s native programming language Solidity. Wooden’s web price is estimated at $450 million.

37. Alexandre Dreyfus

Founder and CEO of Chiliz the main digital forex for sports activities and leisure, operates the blockchain-based sports activities leisure platform Socios, which permits customers to take part within the governance of their favourite sports activities manufacturers. Proprietor of a number of fan tokens by Socios.com are an instance of that. For sports activities golf equipment and associations, fan tokens provide a means of connecting with their followers and unlocking new income streams. Alexandre Dreyfus web price is estimated at $450 million.

38. Juan Benet

Juan Benet is an American laptop scientist who based Protocol Labs in 2014. The next yr, he created the InterPlanetary File System, a peer-to-peer community protocol for storing and sharing knowledge in a distributed file system. In August 2017, Benet launched the Filecoin challenge, elevating over $200 million in simply half-hour throughout an preliminary coin providing. Filecoin builds on IFPS and permits customers to lease out their unused hard-drive house, logging all transactions on a blockchain. His private web price is estimate at $400 million.

39. Bart Stephens

Bart Stephens is a co-founder and managing companion of Blockchain Capital, one of many earliest and most energetic VC agency investing completely in blockchain know-how sector and the primary to boost a enterprise fund by an preliminary coin providing. Stephens has 20 years of expertise as each an working entrepreneur and a enterprise capitalist. His skilled background additionally contains government positions at firms similar to E-Commerce Monetary Company, Oncology.com and Ivanhoe Capital. His private web price is estimated at $300 million.

40. Justin Solar

Justin Solar is a Chinese language know-how entrepreneur, founding father of cryptocurrency platform TRON and the cryptocurrency TRX. He’s an energetic investor non the crypto house with a private web price estimated at $300 million.

41. Roberto Dagnoni

Roberto Dagnoni is the manager chairman and CEO of 2TM, the dad or mum firm of Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America’s first crypto unicorn after elevating $200 million from Japan’s SoftBank. His private web price is estimated at $300 million.

42. Hayden Adams

Hayden Adam is the founding father of Uniswap, the world’s main decentralized crypto exchanges. . He got here onto the crypto scene when he determined to learn to code utilizing the Solidity language that powers the Ethereum community. This was after he was laid off by tech big Siemens, which was, in line with him, “The very best factor that ever occurred to me.” His private web price is estimated at $250 million.

43. Anthony Pompliano

Anthony Pompliano is an American entrepreneur and enterprise capitalist, is likely one of the largest figures in crypto. Additionally known as “Pomp” within the crypto neighborhood, he’s well-known for internet hosting The Pomp Podcast and publishing “The Pomp Letter,” a day by day crypto-related publication, to over 45,000 traders. Pomp can also be a co-founder and companion at Morgan Creek Digital, the crypto arm of main funding administration agency Morgan Creek Capital. His private web price is estimated at $200 million.

44. Jeffrey Wilcke

Pc programmer, Jeffrey Wilcke was within the Netherlands engaged on Mastercoin, the primary ICO, when he heard about Ethereum. He bought so that he determined to write down an implementation of it in Google’s Go language. He was added to the founders roster alongside Gavin Wooden in early 2014. His web price is estimated at $200 million.

45. Anatoly Yakovenko

Anatoly Yakovenko is the founder and CEO of Solana Labs. After a 17,000% rally in 2021, Solana, a excessive efficiency blockchain supporting builders all over the world creating crypto to scale. His private web price is estimated at $200 million

46. Roham Gharegozlou

Roham Gharegozlou is founder and CEO of Dapper Labs, the staff behind CryptoKitties, Cheese Wizards, NBA Prime Shot, and the Stream blockchain, and extra, and an early pioneer of the NFT motion. Fashioned in February 2018, Dapper Labs was spun out of Axiom Zen, a enterprise studio that Gharegozlou launched, to carry the advantages of decentralization to the primary billion customers by the ability of play, equity and true possession. His private web price is estimated at $200 million.

47. O.D. Kobo (Oded Kobo)

O.D. Kobo is a co-founder and former managing companion at PIR Equities, a UK based mostly non-public fairness agency who have been one of many first institutional traders to spend money on the house. PIR Equities invested $50 million in Bitcoin and Ether in August of 2018 when Bitcoin was at $6,938 and Ether at $283. Kobo is an avid supporter of blockchain initiatives and actively invests in varied tasks and digital currencies. His private web price is estimated at $200 million.

48. Kris Marszalek

Kris Marszalek based cryptocurrency funds firm Monaco in 2016 as a option to give on a regular basis customers higher management over their funds and knowledge. The corporate rebranded to Crypto.com in 2018 to higher replicate its core mission to speed up the worldwide adoption of cryptocurrency, and it now affords crypto debit playing cards, centralized and decentralized change providers, and extra. His private web price is estimated at $150 million.

49. Peter Smith

Peter Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Blockchain.com. The corporate is likely one of the hottest on-line crypto wallets on the planet, with tens of millions of customers across the globe. Smith’s involvement in crypto doesn’t cease there as he’s in control of Blockchain Principal Methods, which serves as an institutional platform that exposes institutional traders to cryptocurrencies. His private web price is estimated at $100 million.

50. Gavin Andresen

Gavin Andresen is a software program developer who was entrusted by Satoshi Nakamoto because the lead developer of Bitcoin. In 2012 he based the Bitcoin Basis, which helps the event of the Bitcoin forex. In 2014 he left his software program improvement position and now serves because the chief scientist for the inspiration. Earlier than getting concerned with Bitcoin, he developed 3D graphics and digital actuality software program. His private web price is estimated at $100 million.