The last couple of years have brought a lot of attention to cryptocurrency, as many venture capitalists and skilled investors both earned fortunes trading and investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. As such, this created more interest in blockchain technology and in the cryptomarkets, as contemporary society caught winds of people using cryptocurrency to make their fortunes.
And that led to the release of the top-100 richest cryptocurrency wallets, many of which are owned by developers who helped legitimize the industry. Much of this information was compiled thanks to data mined from Forbes, looking at top business and finance publications like:
- FORBES
- Bloomberg BusinessWeek
- Fortune magazine
- The Financial Times
This helped researchers come up with a list of people who meet the $350-million minimum required to make the top-100 list. What’s more, researchers found that the average age of crypto-rich individuals was 42. This is significantly younger than the average age of 67 on Forbes’ list of the wealthiest Americans, which indicates that cryptocurrency may be more appealing to the younger, less traditional investor or business professional.
But who are these people ranking topping the list? Unsurprisingly, most are professionals who’ve built their fortunes working in the tech sector and aren’t strangers to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This list includes industry giants like:
- Chris Larsen, Co-founder of Ripple. Worth anywhere from $7.5 to $8 billion thanks to the success of Ripple, as well as his participation in other companies like the Palo Alto Funding Group and E-Loans.
- Joseph Lubin, Co-founder of Ethereum. Has an estimated net worth between $1 billion $5 billion in cryptocurrency. Is also the founder of a 600-employee software company, ConsenSys.
- Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance. As the CEO of the most popular global cryptocurrency exchange, Zhao is believed to own anywhere from $1.1 billion to $2 billion in cryptocurrency.
- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Co-founders of Gemini. These twin brothers own around $900 million to $1.1 billion thanks to their successful exchange, as well as a settlement with the social media giant Facebook.
- Matthew Mellon, Individual investor. Unfortunately, Mellon passed away in 2018 at the age of 54. Before that, he was expected to hold between $900 million to $1 billion in cryptocurrency and was one of the few people to make the list without direct involvement in the industry.
- Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. As the founder and CEO of the most popular trading platform in the United States, Armstrong is believed to own around $900 million to $1 billion in cryptocurrency.
- Matthew Roszak, Co-founder of Bloq. Roszak made his name as the creator of Bloq and Tally. He’s worth anywhere from $900 million to $1 billion and attributes his fortune to being lucky enough to invest in crypto in its early stages.
- Anthony Di Iorio, Co-founder of Ethereum. Di Iorio isn’t just the co-founder of Bitcoin competitor, Ethereum, he’s also the founder of Jaxx and Decentral, and is believed to have $750 million to $1 billion in cryptocurrency.
- Brock Pierce, Chairman of Bitcoin Foundation. With an estimated worth between $700 million to $1 billion, Pierce is one of the founding members of the EOS project.
- Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital. Along with running Galaxy Digital, Novogratz is a former hedge fund manager believed to own between $700 million to $1 billion in cryptocurrency.
- Brendan Blumer, CEO of Block.one. Worth an estimated $600 million to $700 million, Blumer is the CEO and brains behind EOS’ distributed ledger.
- Dan Larimer, CTO in Block.one. Same as Brenden Blumer, Dan owns roughly $600 million to $700 million in crypto assets and was in charge of the development of the EOS protocol and platform.
- Valery Vavilov, CEO of Bitfury. Helped create Bitfury, the largest Bitcoin mining company in Europe. Is worth roughly $500 million to $700 million.
- Charles Hoskinson, Co-founder of Ethereum and IOHK (Cardano). Charles Hoskinson is a successful entrepreneur who’s played a role in three crypto startups and is worth between $500 million to $600 million.
- Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. Brad is the active CEO of Ripple and has helped the platform expand during his time running the company. Is believed to own between $400 million to $500 million in crypto assets.
- Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group. Barry Silbert is a major name in the industry, running a number of cryptocurrency funds and investment operations which earned him between $400 million to $500 million.
- Vitalik Buterin, Creator of Ethereum. One of the most iconic individuals in cryptocurrency, Vitalik Buterin is credited for creating Ethereum and helping the platform reach its current level of popularity. Owns an estimated $400 million to $500 million in cryptocurrency.
That’s just a portion of the most influential people that make up the top-100 richest cryptocurrency holders. Stay tuned for our upcoming post, where we’ll dig a little deeper into the history and accomplishments of crypto’s most successful individuals. And be sure to bookmark CryptoTraderNews to stay up to date with information surrounding cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
