Recently, Forbes reported, the cryptocurrency sector has experienced an impressive year of development, from the rise of Dogecoin promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, to the volatility of Bitcoin, to the transformation of Bitcoin. new Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs),.
It is that strong development, there have been a series of characters who have made billions of dollars from the field that is valued at up to $ 2 trillion. According to Forbes, in the list of world billionaires in 2022, there are 19 people in the field of cryptocurrency and Blockchain. This number has increased by 7 people compared to 2021.
Changpeng Zhao
Topping the list is Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, 44, a Canadian, nicknamed CZ. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, accounting for two-thirds of all cryptocurrency trading volume on centralized exchanges last year.
CZ is said to own at least 70% of Binance shares, valued at around $65 billion. This figure is up sharply from $1.9 billion last year. In addition, this billionaire also holds a number of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, BNB. With his net worth, he is ranked 19th in the list of the richest people in the world.
Sam Bankman-Fried
Bankman-Fried, 30 years old American, is the founder of the exchange FTX. After successfully raising $ 400 million last year, the exchange is being valued at $ 32 billion. FTX’s US operations were also recently valued at $8 billion by investors.
Bankman-Fried currently owns half of FTX, and holds the exchange’s FTT tokens with an estimated value of $7 billion. He once vowed to give away his entire fortune. Last year, he moved his operations from Hong Kong (China) to the Bahamas, which is considered to have a more open policy with cryptocurrencies.
Brian Armstrong
The next name on the Forbes list is Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong. This 39-year-old billionaire has had great merit in bringing Coinbase exchange to become a listed company, valued at $100 billion in April 2021. Currently, the market capitalization of this exchange has decreased by about half. However, with a 19% stake in Coinbase, the company’s CEO remains the third-richest person in the crypto space, with a fortune of around $6.6 billion.
Gary Wang
Gary Wang, US nationality, co-founder and CTO of FTX exchange. He owns a 16% stake in the exchange’s global business and holds an estimated $600 million worth of FTT tokens. Before starting his career in crypto, Wang studied computer science. at MIT, then became a software engineer at Google, worked at the flight booking division of Google Flight.
Chris Larsen
The next billionaire to be named on the Forbes list is Chris Larsen, 61, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple, the blockchain company that creates the XRP token – the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. eight in the world today.
From December 2020 until now, Larsen and Ripple have faced a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that the company raised capital through the form of ICO (Initial Coin Offering) illegally. The outcome of the aforementioned lawsuit is considered to be a turning point for the future issuance of tokens.
To date, Larsen has denied the accusations against the company, but the value of XRP has also plummeted since then. He participates in several campaigns calling for the Bitcoin community to reduce the carbon footprint of the digital asset.
Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss
The Winklevoss twins, born in 1981, are best known for their lawsuit against CEO Mark Zuckerberg of Meta. The duo believe that Zuckerberg stole their idea to create Facebook. After receiving a compensation of $65 million, they invested all in the cryptocurrency.
Both started buying Bitcoin in 2012, then expanded to many other cryptocurrencies and digital assets. They also created the Gemini exchange and the Nifty Gateway auction platform. After the NFT craze last year, the net worth of each person now stands at $4 billion.
Song Chi-hyung
Song Chi-hyung is the only Korean in the Forbes top 10 crypto billionaires. He is the founder of Upbit exchange and succeeded when the cryptocurrency market exploded in Korea. This market is currently believed to be worth around $46 billion.
Forbes said billionaire Song Chi-hyung currently holds a quarter of the shares of Dunamu, Upbit’s parent company. It is known that Dunamu was valued at $17 billion in November 2021 when Hybe, the company behind the K-pop sensation BTS, bought a 2.5% stake. Qualcomm, the US semiconductor giant, previously held a 6% stake in Dunamu.
Barry Silbert
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Number 9 on the list is Mr. Barry Silbert, founder of the investment fund Digital Currency Group (DCC). Forbes estimates that the net worth of this American billionaire is currently about $ 3.2 billion.
It is known that the DCC fund controls many big names in the cryptocurrency sector such as Grayscale – a company that manages about $ 28 billion in digital assets, and CoinDesk – the world’s leading crypto media company. In addition, through its subsidiaries, DCC is said to be involved in investing in around 200 startups in the crypto space.
Before entering this market, Silbert was a banker and businessman who owned the Second Market stock exchange, before being sold to Nasdaq in 2015.
Jed McCaleb
The last name on the list is Jed McCaleb, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion. Accordingly, this billionaire used to be the co-founder of Ripple company with Chris Larsen. In 2013, he left the project due to disagreements with the team. The majority of Mr. McCaleb’s fortune comes from the sale of XRP coins as well as his stake in Ripple. He is currently the co-founder and CTO of the Stellar cryptocurrency.