Counting the Fortunes of Bitcoin Billionaires: Unveiling the New Wealth Code
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Counting the Fortunes of Bitcoin Billionaires: Unveiling the New Wealth Code
In the Forbes real-time billionaires list, 15 billionaires have primarily derived their wealth from the cryptocurrency sector.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: Daniel Phillips & Ali Shutler
Translated by: BitpushNews Yanan
Many early investors in Bitcoin have now become billionaires, joining the ranks of the world's wealthiest individuals. However, their fortunes may pale in comparison to the vast wealth potentially held by Satoshi Nakamoto.
The rapid rise of Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry has created several early investors who became billionaires almost overnight.
At the end of 2020, after Bitcoin's price surged, the Winklevoss twins once again entered the ranks of Bitcoin billionaires.
Yet, the wealth of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, is even more staggering—estimated at $40 billion, far surpassing all others.
Since Bitcoin sparked the cryptocurrency revolution in 2009, the sector has grown rapidly. While some early users once spent Bitcoin on pizzas, cryptocurrencies have largely become synonymous with wealth.
According to reports, as of June 2024, there were 15 billionaires on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List whose wealth primarily came from the cryptocurrency sector—an increase from nine in 2023. Notably, at the beginning of 2024, this list included 17 crypto billionaires, highlighting the volatility of the cryptocurrency market.
At the time of this report, Bitcoin’s market capitalization had soared to an astonishing $1.3 trillion, accounting for roughly half of the global crypto market cap of $2.6 trillion. Over the past year, the cryptocurrency market experienced a remarkable 134% surge in total market value. By June 2024, nearly 19.7 million Bitcoins were in circulation—about 94% of the maximum supply of 21 million—demonstrating Bitcoin’s strong market performance.
In this cryptocurrency boom, early investors have played a pivotal role. Many of them astutely captured market momentum and reinvested profits into the crypto space, achieving astonishing wealth growth—from millionaires to billionaires. However, some investors prefer to remain low-key, quietly enjoying the fruits of this financial feast rather than seeking the spotlight.
According to authoritative data from BitInfoCharts, there are currently 56 Bitcoin wallets holding over $1 billion worth of Bitcoin. However, deeper analysis reveals that these massive holdings are not necessarily owned by individual investors—many belong to companies or organizations.
Additionally, several major crypto whales remain anonymous, with some never having moved their substantial Bitcoin holdings. This raises speculation: could they have lost their private keys?
Reports indicate that holding Bitcoin can significantly enhance investment portfolio performance. Therefore, it's reasonable to assume many billionaires likely hold Bitcoin. However, this article focuses specifically on those who accumulated their wealth primarily through Bitcoin, revealing how they rose to prominence in the crypto wave and ultimately reached the pinnacle of wealth.
Tim Draper (Net Worth: $2 Billion)
Tim Draper, a prominent figure in Silicon Valley venture capital, built most of his fortune through savvy traditional investments. However, he gained widespread fame in 2014 when he purchased nearly 30,000 Bitcoins seized from the "Silk Road" dark web marketplace at around $630 per coin. That same year, he boldly predicted Bitcoin would exceed $10,000 within three years—a forecast that missed reality by only one month.
Although his prediction that Bitcoin would reach $250,000 by the end of 2022 did not materialize, his enthusiasm for the crypto market remains undiminished. In April 2024, he made another bold statement: “From $250,000 to $10 million, Bitcoin has no ceiling.”
Moreover, Draper has extensive involvement in blockchain and smart contract technologies, investing in numerous related startups. To further tap into the potential of the crypto market, he launched a venture studio dedicated to this field—Draper Goren Blockchain (DGB)—in September 2023.
Michael Novogratz (Net Worth: $2.5 Billion)
Novogratz began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1989 and later became a regular on billionaire lists. However, in 2013, he suffered a two-thirds loss in his net worth—the same year he started investing in Bitcoin.
Since then, he has immersed himself in the crypto market, investing widely in startups and various tokens, and founded Galaxy, a digital asset and blockchain company.
His journey in crypto hasn’t been smooth. He once placed great hopes on Luna, the token associated with the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, but the 2022 market crash dealt him a significant blow. This event likely contributed to his net worth falling from $4.8 billion in 2021 to $2.5 billion today. Nevertheless, Novogratz’s confidence and passion for the crypto market remain intact. In June 2024, he confidently predicted that Bitcoin could surpass $100,000 by year-end.
Winklevoss Twins (Net Worth: $2.7 Billion)
You might know that Cameron Winklevoss and his twin brother Tyler accused Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for creating Facebook. But you may not know that after *The Social Network* (Note: *The Social Network* chronicles Mark Zuckerberg’s founding of Facebook, exposing conflicts among co-founders and the platform’s rise), they embarked on a new chapter as crypto evangelists.
The brothers co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. However, after the 2022 crypto market downturn, Gemini faced difficulties due to the bankruptcy of Genesis, a crypto lending firm.
Nonetheless, they still hold approximately 70,000 Bitcoins—assets sufficient to secure them billions in wealth. They used part of their funds to invest $4.5 million in Royal Bedford, a Level 9 American football club.
Jed McCaleb (Net Worth: $2.9 Billion)
Shortly after Bitcoin’s inception, inspired by building a trading marketplace for users of "Magic: The Gathering" (Note: MTG is a strategy-based collectible card game), McCaleb founded the first Bitcoin exchange—Mt. Gox. In February 2011, he sold the startup to a developer capable of taking it to new heights for an undisclosed sum, while retaining a minority stake in the company.
However, in the following years, Mt. Gox suffered repeated hacker attacks and was eventually forced to shut down in 2014—despite still handling up to 70% of global Bitcoin transactions at the time.
Notably, McCaleb didn’t stop during Mt. Gox’s operation. In 2011, he founded the Ripple cryptocurrency network, and in 2014, co-founded the Stellar cryptocurrency network.
Matthew Roszak (Net Worth: $3.1 Billion)
Matthew Roszak, co-founder of Bloq, a blockchain infrastructure provider, is a pioneer in the cryptocurrency space. He acquired his first Bitcoin in 2012, praising it as “one of the greatest technological, financial, industrial, and humanitarian innovations of our time.” He subsequently invested in over 20 Bitcoin startups, including BitFury and BitGo, showcasing sharp business acumen. Additionally, Roszak advocated gifting $50 in digital assets to every member of Congress—an initiative that received mixed responses but undoubtedly contributed positively to crypto adoption and promotion.
Jean-Louis van der Velde (Net Worth: $3.9 Billion)
After years of experience in the tech industry, Jean-Louis van der Velde co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2013, which remains one of the longest-running and most liquid major exchanges. He also served as CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether until stepping down in 2023. However, it is rumored he still holds about 20% of Tether’s shares.
Paolo Ardoino (Net Worth: $3.9 Billion)
After van der Velde stepped down, Ardoino took over as CEO of Tether and became the company’s new public face. Starting his career as a programmer, he joined Bitfinex in 2014 as a senior software developer. As Tether rose to become a top crypto stablecoin issuer, he became increasingly involved in its operations. Last year, the company earned $6.2 billion in interest income, and as a 20% shareholder, Ardoino reaped significant returns.
Michael Saylor (Net Worth: $4.8 Billion)
Saylor is one of Bitcoin’s most ardent supporters, famously describing cryptocurrencies as “cyber hornets serving the goddess of wisdom”—a vivid metaphor. He has long been a staunch advocate of Bitcoin, though his recent stance toward Ethereum appears to have softened.
In 1989, he co-founded software company MicroStrategy. Since then, the company has heavily invested in Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset. As of March 2024, MicroStrategy reportedly held $13 billion worth of Bitcoin, and Saylor personally owns over $1.2 billion in crypto. Notably, in 2020, he revealed he held 17,732 Bitcoins.
Giancarlo Devasini (Net Worth: $9.2 Billion)
Giancarlo Devasini serves as Chief Financial Officer of stablecoin issuer Tether and is said to own 47% of the company. Tether is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with over 100 billion USDT tokens issued. The company is also one of the largest Bitcoin holders globally, with over $5 billion worth of Bitcoin in its reserves.
Brian Armstrong (Net Worth: $10.9 Billion)
Brian Armstrong, a former Airbnb software engineer, co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in San Francisco in 2012. Coinbase is the leading U.S. crypto exchange, and he currently owns about 19% of the company. Coinbase went public in 2021 at a valuation of $100 billion, though by June 2024, its valuation had dropped to around $62.6 billion. Nonetheless, the exchange posted a profit of $273.4 million in Q4 2023. In February this year, Armstrong sold 2% of his Coinbase shares, cashing out $53.2 million, which he then reinvested into several cutting-edge startups, including NewLimit, a longevity-focused company he co-founded.
Changpeng Zhao (Net Worth: $33 Billion)
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance—the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange—is reported to control 90% of the company. Founded in 2017, Binance quickly raised $15 million through an initial coin offering (ICO), though the exact amount remains disputed. Since then, the company’s growth has accelerated. By 2023, the exchange dominated half of all centralized crypto spot trading. However, CZ faced setbacks that year when Binance was forced to pay a $4.3 billion penalty to settle with the U.S. government. CZ pleaded guilty to money laundering charges, resigned as CEO, and was sentenced to four months in prison, starting in June 2024. He will become the richest inmate in the U.S. prison system.
Satoshi Nakamoto (Net Worth: $76.67 Billion)
Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, has remained unseen since publishing the whitepaper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” on October 31, 2008. The paper detailed his unique vision for a blockchain-based digital currency. Since then, Bitcoin has led the fast-evolving cryptocurrency industry, yet Satoshi’s true identity remains a mystery.
Notably, Satoshi is believed to still hold approximately 1.1 million Bitcoins, none of which have ever been moved. These coins lie dormant, often assumed by outsiders to be lost. But if these Bitcoins were ever to move from Satoshi’s wallet, it would send shockwaves across the market—and serve as strong evidence that the enigmatic creator of Bitcoin is still alive.
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