We knew that with the dynamism that has been theirs for several months, cryptos have taken many people out of financial poverty. Forbes magazine documented these perceptions in a recent study. His report shows how in the space of a year, these assets, both prized by some and feared by others, have made new billionaires. As for the elders, they saw their financial assets linked to crypto grow to the height of their faith in these assets. In this article, we present to you those who, through risk, are fortunate thanks to crypto.
First, some crypto context
The crypto market has experienced a remarkable resurgence, marking, according to several experts, the end of the bear market. As evidenced by the valuation of the flagship crypto, bitcoin (BTC) has skyrocketed and more than doubled over the past year. The month of March was historic. Bitcoin hit a record high of $73,000 driven by investor enthusiasm for the spot Bitcoin ETF approved in January. More broadly, the crypto industry has been part of an upward trend with a valuation that has increased by 170%. An increase which represents a value of 1,600 billion dollars reached over the last 12 months.
This resurgence has not only impacted the market as a whole. It has literally transformed the financial landscape for individual investors and entrepreneurs. The Forbes list of the world's billionaires in 2024 reveals a significant increase in the number of crypto billionaires. While there were only 9 in 2023, there are now 17! And the least we can say is that these crypto fortunes weigh. They even weigh very heavily since their assets are now globally estimated at 93 billion dollars, compared to 37 billion dollars in 2023. A figure which covers both their holdings in various cryptos, their investments in publicly disclosed shares and their private assets. .
The increase in the number of crypto billionaires has profound meaning. It highlights a sustained acceptance of cryptos in a context of adoption which is increasingly winning over the general public. The dynamic also highlights the legitimacy that these assets have acquired as a relevant investment to generate wealth beyond helping to preserve it. That said, who are these crypto billionaires who are so talked about?
The new faces of the crypto financial elite
Their names are Giancarlo Devasini, Paolo Ardoino, Jean-Louis van der Velde and Stuart Hoegner. These four investors, now crypto billionaires, are in fact the four main investors of Tether, the issuer of the very controversial stablecoin USDT.
Stuart Hoegner, whose current crypto net worth is $2.5 billion, has been the general counsel of Tether and its subsidiary Bitfinex since 2014. He owns a 13% stake in the company. After beginning a career as a chartered accountant at Ernst & Young, Hoegner founded Gaming Counsel Professional Corporation, an online gambling law firm with a crypto-focused clientele.
Jean-Louis van der Velde, who is a former CEO of Tether, now has a fortune of $3.9 billion. He owns 20% of the company and is the strategic liaison to banks and regulators. Originally from the Netherlands, he dabbled in information technology and tech start-ups in Asia before joining Tether.
Regarding Paolo Ardoino he has a fortune similar to that of Jean-Louis van der Velde ($3.9 billion). He also owns 20% of Tether, being the CEO and public face of the company. His professional career led him to work as a computer programmer in various start-ups.
As for Giancarlo Devasini, current financial director of Tether, he boasts a crypto fortune valued at $9.2 billion. He is factually the richest of Tether's four investors due to his substantial stake in the company, estimated at 47%. Devasini's role is to oversee the profitability of Tether, which notably raked in $6.2 billion in interest income last year.
Classic Crypto Billionaires
By classic billionaires we mean investors who were billionaires before the Forbes ranking. What is changing is the value of their crypto assets which has exploded substantially. We find in this list, Joe Lau, Nikil Viswanathan, Tim Draper, brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Matthew Roszak, Jed McCaleb, Fred Ehrsam and Michael Saylor. There is also Fred Ehrsam, Chris Larsen.
It must be remembered that the spectacular growth of the fortunes of these billionaires is closely linked to the evolution of the crypto ecosystem and financial technologies.
Thus, the fortunes of Joe Lau and Nikil Viswanathan ($1.5 billion each) are partly due to the growing demand for blockchain solutions in various sectors. Tim Draper, whose fortune soared to $2 billion thanks to his investments in Bitcoin, was an early visionary of blockchain technology. The same goes for brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Estimated to have a net worth of $2.7 billion each, their fortunes are also associated with their investments in bitcoin and their crypto exchange Gemini.
Jed McCaleb, with a fortune of $2.9 billion, saw the value of his assets increase thanks to his sales of XRP, Ripple's native crypto. Matthew Roszak, whose crypto assets amount to $3.1 billion, has benefited from the rise of bitcoin and ether. It's the same for Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, who saw the value of his assets climb to $3.2 billion.
Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, took advantage of the growth of the Ripple ecosystem to reach a fortune of $3.2 billion. Mike Novogratz managed to capitalize on the rise of Galaxy Digital Holdings, his investment company focused on cryptos and blockchain. Furthermore, his early and successful investments in bitcoin also contributed to the significant increase in his wealth. Finally, Michael Saylor saw his fortune increase to $4.4 billion thanks to his investments in MicroStrategy, and his massive purchases in bitcoin.
The dynamic duo
If all these investors weigh financially in the crypto industry, they are featherweights compared to Brian Armstrong. Co-founder of Coinbase alongside Fred Ehrsam, his net worth exploded to $11.2 billion from $2.2 billion.
Holding an 18% stake in Coinbase, he has seen the company's stock rise by a meteoric 50% since the start of the year. Above all, it has experienced a staggering tripling since last year, reaching a market capitalization of almost $60 billion.
However, neither Brian Armstrong, nor even less the others, comes close to the fortune of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former CEO and founder of Binance. His fortune is estimated at $33 billion, a considerable jump from the $10.5 billion he owned. Although he was charged with money laundering at the federal level, his fortune did not diminish. It remains a dominant force in crypto, thanks to its 90% stake in Binance.
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