You can learn many lessons from studying the top 10 crypto billionaires. These individuals overcame harsh odds and skepticism to obtain their massive crypto fortunes. As such, their tales help to paint a picture of the early crypto market and how its evolution has progressed. Here are the top 10 crypto billionaires you should know, in no particular order.
1. The Winklevoss Twins
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss remain pioneers in the market. They have numerous accolades, including being Harvard graduates, Olympians, and sometimes controversial figures in the industry. Notably, These brothers have become household names that have been featured in numerous books, shows, and films, including the 2010 hit The Social Network.
These crypto billionaires sprung into the spotlight after a lengthy lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook. They took their winnings from the settlement and began to invest in Bitcoin. This maneuver paid off as Bitcoin was around $120 a coin then. From there, they didn’t stop their crypto ambitions.
Source – NYPost
In 2014, the twins launched the Gemini Exchange. Gemini took off as one of only a handful of fully regulated options for enterprise and institutional investors. Today, it remains one of the top-performing CEXs in the market.
The Winklevoss’s momentum hasn’t stopped. Despite some headaches, the brothers launched Winklevoss Capital and have been instrumental in driving Bitcoin ETF approval in the US. As such, it’s no surprise that these two make the list of the top 10 Bitcoin billionaires you need to know.
2. Matthew Roszak
Matthew Roszak is a well-known venture capitalist, investor, and entrepreneur. He has helped start multiple blockchain firms, including Bloq. Bloq provides custodial services to traditional banks. It also helps these firms accept and launch stablecoins.
Before his venture into the blockchain space, Roszak co-founded InterAct911. In 2012, he began to purchase Bitcoin. From there, he continued to invest in emerging ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) with success. Many of these projects took flight and are still in operation today.
These maneuvers paid off as he saw massive returns from investments in Coinbase and Kraken exchanges. Both of these platforms are dominant options in the market. Consequently, Roszak continues to see his wealth expand.
Roszak has done a lot for the crypto community in terms of adoption. In one instance, Roszak donated $50 of Bitcoin to every member of Congress. For many lawmakers, this was the first time they held digital currencies. All of these factors make Roszak an excellent fit for this list.
3. Kim Hyoung-nyon
Kim Hyoung-nyon was one of South Korea’s first crypto investors to reach billionaire status. His career began at a small local payment firm before a life-changing career change. In 2012, Hyoung-nyon launched what would become the region’s premier CEX, Upbit, a subsidiary of Dunamu.
Upbit quickly gained the lion’s share in the market after receiving regulatory approval. Notably, it was the first crypto exchange to secure certifications for information security management. Today, the exchange still dominates the regional market.
Notably, Dunamu raised eyebrows after securing $85M from major tech firms. Specifically, Kakao Ventures and Altos Ventures led the first funding round. All of these maneuvers helped to add more security and features to Upbit. Recent reports put Upbit’s monthly trading value at +$6B. Additionally, the exchange received a $17B valuation, which added to its draw.
In July 2023, Hyoung-nyon purchased a home in Beverly Hills for $23M. The home was previously owned by music star The Weeknd. Hyoung-nyon’s music interests are well known. His firm secured massive returns after acquiring a 2.5% stake in Hype, the management company for the popular K-pop group BTS. All of these actions place Hyoung-nyon’s fortune somewhere north of $1B.
4. Fred Ehrsam
Fred Ehrsam is another Bitcoin billionaire who has an interesting tale to tell. His career began after graduating from Duke, where he secured a job as a forex trader at Goldman Sachs. This position opened his eyes to the shortcomings of the world’s currencies.
Ehrsam’s Bitcoin journey began in 2012, and just a year later, he was mentioned in TIME Magazine’s list of 30 People Under 30 Changing the World. All of this momentum led to him eventually meeting Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong. The two founded Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in North America and has considerable influence in the industry.
In 2017, Ehrsam left Coinbase in search of more freedom. He found his niche when he founded Paradigm with another VC, Matt Huang. Since then, the firm has secured $2.5B to start various crypto projects. Interestingly, Ehrsam is a main character in the novel “Kings of Crypto: One Startup’s Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street.” His story is inspiring and a map to success, with reports placing his wealth at $1.3B.
5. Jed McCaleb
Jed McCaleb is one of the best-known names in the crypto market. This intuitive mind remains an inspiration to many. McCaleb is the co-founder of both Ripple and Stellar. He also is one of the most controversial figures in the market due to his connection to Mt.Gox.
McCaleb entered the tech world in 2000 after founding Metamachine. This platform added additional capabilities to images, such as adding text, captions, and licensing requirements. The program was a hit, which led to McCaleb launching a P2P data-sharing network called eDonkey.
In 2010, McCaleb took his P2P knowledge and upped the ante when he created Mt.Gox. This was the world’s first successful CEX. To put its importance in perspective, there was a time when Mt.Gox was responsible for over 80% of all Bitcoin trading volume. Sadly, the exchange was hacked for 850,000 BTC before failing.
Wisely, McCaleb had already left the project and moved on to create a bank-focused blockchain network called Opencoin in 2014. Opencoin soon became Ripple. Shortly After, McCaleb left Ripple and went on to create Stellar Lumens. These maneuvers paid off, and both networks remain popular options.
6. Alex Atallah
Alex Atallah is a Stanford graduate with a background in programming and banking. Specifically, he worked for J.P. Morgan before founding various successful tech ventures, including MagicPlan, an AR (Augmented Reality) app to design floor plans.
Atallah also has a background in development and audio. Notably, he was the CTO of hostess.fm, a streaming site that gained popularity. The project was eventually acquired by Beatport in 2014. This maneuver gave Atallah the funding needed to begin work on another successful project,
Atallah’s journey to Bitcoin fame began when he met Devin Finzerand and co-founded OpenSea in 2018. OpenSea exploded in popularity, with the platform securing the top spot for NFT collectibles in terms of capitalization. Today, OpenSea is a premier destination for NFT traders, and the addition of helpful features, like easy minting, continues to drive its popularity.
7. Nikil Viswanathan
Nikil Viswanathan achieved billionaire status after founding the blockchain infrastructure provider Alchemy in 2017. His company offers a variety of developer tools to improve crucial processes in the industry. As such, it has seen impressive growth since its launch.
Source – Alchemy
To put its growth in perspective, the firm received a $10.2B valuation. Additionally, the company has secured $200M in VC funding to expand its ecosystem and offerings. These factors have helped Viswanathan climb to billionaire status relatively quickly.
Alchemy combines a secure API, a variety of SDKs, and various tools to empower developers to make more helpful and secure applications. Additionally, there are many options to help ensure the scalability of dapps with developers claiming transactions are 7.9x faster than other options.
Alchemy has worked with many of the biggest names in the industry to improve efficiency. Currently, the firm has +3.5M wallets integrated and has served +100K users successfully. This success helped Viswanathan rise to the top of the crypto sphere.
8. Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong is one of the best-known names on this list, as he co-founded Coinbase. Like some other individuals here, he has a tech background. Specifically, he spent time as a software engineer at Airbnb and IBM. This experience led him to the concept of P2P transactions and decentralization.
Armstrong took those lessons as he ventured into the decentralized economy successfully. Notably, Coinbase has helped introduce millions of users to cryptocurrencies, and it remains among the top onramps in the market. As such, Armstrong is more relevant than ever.
Notably, he currently serves as the CEO of Coinbase, where he has been crucial in driving crypto adoption globally. Coinbase remains the dominant CEX in the US and has expanded into other ventures, including DeFi options like staking and farming. In 2021, it became the first US exchange to go public.
Armstrong’s entrepreneurial spirit and deep understanding of the needs of the crypto market make him a significant player in the industry. Currently, he is reported to have amassed a +$3B fortune. You can expect this number to climb alongside any positive market movements.
9. Devin Finzer
Devin Finzer is the other co-founder of OpenSea, the largest NFT market in operation. After the project took flight alongside the 2021 NFT craze, he achieved billionaire status. Some reports put his fortune at $2.2B.
Finzer is both a software engineer and an entrepreneur. Notably, he created a personal finance app called Claimdog. This app was eventually sold to credit Karma in 2016. He has also worked for a myriad of tech firms, including Google, Flipboard, and Pinterest.
Finzer has made a couple of ventures into the blockchain industry. Notably, he and Alex Atallah developed a blockchain-based Wifi sharing protocol called WifiCoin. The project paid users a utility token to share their Wi-Fi signal with others.
It was at this time that Finzer pivoted towards the NFT market with the launch of OpenSea. Notably, the exchange was a hit from day one, securing $2.1M in VC funding. From there, the success of the platform grew as the company secured $100M in a second round of private fundraising. In 2022, OpenSea received a valuation of $13.3B, making Finzer an official crypto billionaire.
10. Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen helped found Ripple Labs 2018, which eventually led to his crypto billionaire status. However, Larsen was well on his way to fortunes within the tech sector before Ripple. He has founded various successful projects in the past, including E-loan.
E-Loan was among the first online mortgage lenders in the US. This positioning enabled the platform to secure a niche in the market. The project saw great success before it was purchased by Banco Popular in 2005.
Larsen didn’t take a break, and in 2006, he again co-founded another popular project, Prosper Marketplace. There, he served as the firm’s CEO until his eventual departure to take the helm of Ripple Labs. Today, Ripple is a top-performing platform that has secured significant strategic partnerships in the banking and money transfer industries.
According to reports, Larsen has been a crypto billionaire for a long time. In 2018, following the crypto breakout year and successful rebranding of Ripple Labs, Forbes estimated his wealth at $59B. Since then, he has seen some drawbacks alongside the rest of the market, with the latest assessments putting him at $4.4B.
Who Will Be the Next Crypto Billionaire?
All of the people on this list share one trait in common: they all had the sound mind to enter the decentralized market and push for more adoption. As such, their contributions to the market can’t be overstated. Every name on this list is a true crypto pioneer whose experiences can help new traders see the results they desire with less effort.
You can learn more about exciting blockchain projects here.
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