Top 20 Cryptocurrency Billionaires in 2022

November 15, 2021 by UBWriter 41 Comments

With the global rise in cryptocurrency investment and trading, a lot of billionaires have been raised.

Trading crypto has become the order of the day. And a lot of individuals do not take it for granted. Everyone wants to take a share in the crypto industry.

Nevertheless, people who have been able to make a lot of bucks since the inception of digital currency are known as cryptocurrency billionaires.

This is because they have made lots of billions in the crypto market.

As the crypto market grows, so do the crypto billionaires. As some billionaires were listed on Forbes world’s billionaires’ list.

So in this article, I would be discussing what cryptocurrency is and the top cryptocurrency billionaires we will have in 2022.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a type of digital payment scheme that is preserved by the cryptography making it impossible to double spend.

A lot of cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology of decentralized networks.

So one of its features is that it is not issued by any central authority however there is no interference from the government.

The main interest in these digital currencies is the need to trade for a profit with prices moving ahead due to speculators’ access to it.

Furthermore, cryptocurrencies we know use blockchain technology which is spread across lots of systems that records trades. The best part of this technology is its security.

Why are Cryptocurrencies very popular?

Here are some popular reasons why crypto appeals to their supporters

• Digital currencies like Bitcoin are seen as the future currency by some supporters and they race to buy them quite early before they become more valuable

• The fact that crypto disallows central banks to manage the money supply is admired by supporters. Because these banks always use inflation to reduce the value of money.

• Due to the technology behind crypto which is blockchain, it is liked by other supporters. This is because of its decentralized network and proper recording of transactions including its security than traditional payment systems

• Crypto is liked by some spectators because of its upward movement in value and has no interest in the long acceptance of the currency as a way to move money.

How many Cryptocurrencies are there? What are they worth?

According to CoinMarketCap.com, more than 13,000 several cryptocurrency are traded and they keep proliferating, raising money through initial coin offerings or ICOs.

Recently, the total value was more than $2.5 trillion, having fallen off from $2.6 trillion.

However, the value of bitcoin was pegged at $1.2 trillion.

Tracked by the Coin Market analytics provider, below are the 10 largest trading crypto currencies by market capitalization

Bitcoin – $1.1 trillion

Ethereum – $497.6 billion

Binance coin – $81 billion

Tether – $70.1 billion

Cardano – $66.4 billion

Solana – $59 billion

XRP – $49.7 billion

Polkadot – $41.6 billion

Dogecoin – $41.2 billion

SHIBA INU – $36.5 billion

Top 20 Cryptocurrency Billionaires in 2022

A lot of companies are putting bitcoin on their balance sheets like Square and Tesla, building crypto products, and exploring the digital dollar possibility.

As the industry grows, so do the crypto currency billionaires. A few of these billionaires made it to the Forbes World’s Billionaire List.

Below are some billionaire lords who invested in crypto and are reaping from it

1. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss:

Networth: $3 billion each

The former Olympic rowers and twins turned their $65 million settlement into a fortune of $3 billion each after suing Facebook. They started way back in 2012 to buy bitcoin.

They were able to purchase Nifty Gateway, a digital art auction platform, and also launched a crypto exchange Gemini.

2. Michael Saylor:

Net worth; $2.3 billion

During the first dot-com bust, the CEO of software firm MicroStrategy made and also lost a fortune. But after snapping up Bitcoin ahead of the boom, Saylor is now worth $2.3 billion- for both himself and the company.

3. Matthew Roszak:

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Roszak is currently the chairman of Bloq, a blockchain infrastructure and an investor in crypto startups.

The crypto evangelist found out about Bitcoin in 2011 and his early crypto investments as of today are valued at $1.5 billion.

4. Tim Draper:

Net worth: $1.5 billion

The silicon valley capitalist bought Bitcoin worth $18.7 million in 2014 which has been confiscated by the U.S. Marshals from the Silk Road black market. These coins are now worth millions.

5. Sam Bankman-Fried:

Net worth: $8.7 billion

One of crypto’s wealthiest billionaires is Bankman-Fried. He founded the quantitative trading firm Alameda Research and popular derivatives exchange FTX.

With his $5 million donations to a super-PAC, he funded Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, and also made headlines in the newspaper in 2020.

6. Brain Armstrong:

Net worth: $6.5 billion

Amidst the boom in crypto investments over the past years, the fortune of the cofounder and CEO of Coinbase sextupled.

However, the firm recently filed to go public as it has established itself as the main U.S. crypto exchange which has generated over $1 billion in earnings in the previous year.

7. Fred Ehrsam:

Net worth: $1.9 billion

In 2012, he co-founded Coinbase with Armstrong. He is a board member though he left the company in 2017, his 6% stake is worth an estimated $1.9 million. He leads the crypto-focused investment firm paradigm as of today.

8. Chanpeng Zhao:

Net worth: $1.9 billion

He is the founder of the crypto exchange, Binance. The surge in cryptocurrency investments globally increased Binance’s variation and Zhao owns a 30% estimated stake in the company.

9. Barry Silbert:

Net worth: $1.6 million

In 2015, Silbert founded a crypto conglomerate, Digital Currency Group (DCG) in which his fortunes are tied up.

Among DCG’s holdings are CoinDesk, the crypto news site and asset management firm which controls $44 billion worth of Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other assets.

10. Chris Larsen:

Net worth: $3.4 billion

He wields over 3 billion XRPs and a 17% stake in Ripple.

As XRP’s token soared in value, Chris the chairman and co-founder of Ripple accumulated his fortunes by $800 million in his firm.

11. Jed McCaleb:

Networth: $2 billion

Another Ripple cofounder derived the bulk of his wealth by just holding $3.4 billion XRPs.

Stellar Lumens which is estimated to be worth 1 billion is owned by him. A cryptocurrency he founded after the fall out with his Ripple colleagues in 2014.

12. Satoshi Nakamoto:

Net worth: $59 billion

Tracking the recent exchange rate, Satoshi is on record to be worth $59 billion.

As one of the cryptocurrency billionaires, he is one of the capitalists that heavily invest in startup crypto.

13. Micree Zhan:

Net worth: $3.2 billion

Even though on the list, he is the least known, he has acquired a cool wealth of $3.2 billion.

He is the co-founder of Bitcoin mining hardware Bitmain and also a known electronic engineer.

Though there was a dispute between the founder Wu and Zhan.

However, the dispute ended with Zhan buying the company from Wu at $600 million.

By the end of 2022, Bitmain will complete its IPO as promised by Zhan.

14. Joseph Lubin:

Net worth: $1-5 billion

He is a native of Toronto and the co-founder of Ethereum but also founded Consensys which is across 28 countries that have helped inaugurate new crypto startup companies and as well he has consulted for companies like Microsoft.

15. Anthony Di Iorio:

Net worth: $750 million – $1 billion

Managing his family business, he was able to save up more money to which he invested into Ethereum and became one of the co-founders.

He has been able to invest in several blockchains and his unique strategy is getting in early and reaping as assets grow.

16. Matthew Mellon:

Net worth: $1 billion

He began investing in crypto quite early despite the disagreement from his family.

He was one of the early investors in XRPs as he bought the coin for $2 million.

17. Brock Pierce:

Net worth: $1 billion

He learned about crypto through entertainment.

Furthermore, fascinated by the potential of bitcoin, he decided to fund most crypto companies like Ethereum, Coinbase, Mastercoin, etc.

18. Michael Novogratz:

Net worth:$7.25 billion

He started investing in crypto as early as 2013

He is the CEO of Galaxy Investments devoted to crypto and sees investments in cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin.

19. Li Lin:

Net worth: $1 billion

Li Lin is one of the crypto billionaires who is the founder of Huobi, a world-leading digital trading platform. A crypto exchange company based in Seychelles.

20. Mingxing Xu:

Net worth: $1.4 billion

He is the founder of one of the global bitcoin trading platforms, OkCoin.com. A Chinese entrepreneur and on record as one of the cryptocurrency billionaires.

Conclusion

Investing in crypto has made a lot of people billionaires. It all boiled down to their determination and willingness to invest early seeing the futuristic potential in those coins.

However, this article pointed out crypto billionaires who are reaping from their investments.

One of the billionaires that inspired me was Matthew Mellon. Amid his family disagreements on his investment in crypto, he went ahead to invest and is now reaping the fruits of his investments.

Reference

Forbes.com

Here’s what to know about cryptocurrency

Best 21 Cryptocurrency Books To Learn About Digital Currencies In 2021

Understanding Cryptocurrency trading

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