Many of Bitcoin's early investors have now become billionaires, among the world's richest people. However, their assets may pale in comparison to the vast wealth that Satoshi Nakamoto may have.
- The meteoric rise of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole has made several early investors billionaires.
- Following the bitcoin price surge at the end of 2020, the Winklevoss brothers have once again joined the ranks of bitcoin billionaires.
- However, the wealth of Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin, is even more staggering, estimated to be as high as 40 billion US dollars, which is beyond the reach of others.
Since Bitcoin led the cryptocurrency revolution in 2009, the field has been developing rapidly. Although some early adopters have used Bitcoin to buy pizza, cryptocurrencies have mostly become a symbol of wealth.
The number of billionaires with a background in cryptocurrency is increasing
It is reported that as of June 2024, 15 of the richest people on the Forbes Billionaires Real-Time Ranking have their wealth mainly derived from the cryptocurrency field, a significant increase compared to 9 in 2023. But it is worth noting that at the beginning of 2024, there were 17 cryptocurrency billionaires on the list, which fully demonstrates the volatility of the cryptocurrency market.
As of the time of this report’s release, Bitcoin’s market capitalization has climbed to a staggering $1.3 trillion, accounting for half of the total global cryptocurrency market capitalization of $2.6 trillion. Looking back over the past year, the cryptocurrency market has experienced tremendous growth, with the overall market value soaring by an impressive 134%. As of June 2024, the circulation of Bitcoin has reached nearly 19.7 million, accounting for 94% of its upper limit of 21 million, demonstrating Bitcoin's strong market performance.
In this cryptocurrency feast, early investors play a vital role. Many of them have keenly grasped the pulse of the market and reinvested their profits into the crypto field, thus achieving an astonishing leap in wealth, from millionaires to billionaires. However, some investors choose to remain low-key, preferring to quietly enjoy the fruits of this capital feast rather than showing off in the spotlight.
According to authoritative data from BitInfoCharts, there are currently 56 Bitcoin wallets whose assets have exceeded the 1 billion US dollar mark. However, after an in-depth analysis of the data, we found that the holders of these huge fortunes are not all individual investors, but also include companies or enterprises.
In addition, there are several crypto whale who choose to remain anonymous, some of whom have never even touched their huge Bitcoin assets. This makes one wonder, have they lost their private keys?
Reports show that holding Bitcoin can significantly improve portfolio performance. Therefore, it is not difficult to speculate that many billionaires may have already invested in Bitcoin. But on this list, we focus on taking stock of the big players who have accumulated wealth mainly through Bitcoin, revealing how they emerged in the tide of cryptocurrency and eventually reached the pinnacle of wealth.
Tim Draper ($2 billion)
Tim Draper, a leader in Silicon Valley venture capital, has accumulated his wealth mainly from precise traditional investments. However, he rose to fame in 2014 when he made a massive purchase of nearly 30,000 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road Dark Web at $630 apiece. In the same year, he asserted that Bitcoin would break the $10,000 mark within three years, and the fact was only one month away from his prediction.
Although his prediction that Bitcoin would reach $250,000 by the end of 2022 failed to come true, it did not diminish his enthusiasm for the crypto market. In April 2024, he made another shocking statement: "From $250,000 to $10 million, there is no limit to the price of Bitcoin."
In addition, Draper is also well-involved in the fields of blockchain and smart contracts, and he has invested in many related companies. In order to further explore the potential of the crypto market, he founded Draper Goren Blockchain (DGB), a venture capital studio focusing on this field, in September 2023.
Further reading: Bitcoin is expected to reach $250,000 in 2024! Tim Draper, the godfather of Silicon Valley venture capital: BTC's potential is comparable to Microsoft
Michael Novogratz ($2.5 billion)
Novogratz began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1989 and has since become a regular on billionaire lists. However, in 2013, he suffered a loss of two-thirds of his wealth. It was also in this year that he began to invest in Bitcoin.
Since then, he has devoted himself to the crypto market, invested extensively in startups and various tokens, and established the digital asset and blockchain company Galaxy.
But his crypto investment journey was not smooth. He had high hopes for Luna, a token associated with the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, but the market crash in 2022 dealt him a heavy blow. This turmoil may be an important factor causing his net worth to shrink significantly from US$4.8 billion in 2021 to US$2.5 billion today.
Despite this, Novogratz's confidence and enthusiasm for the crypto market have not been affected. In June 2024, he confidently predicted that Bitcoin would break through the $100,000 mark before the end of the year.
Further reading: Galaxy Digital CEO: Bitcoin will consolidate between $55,000 and $75,000 this quarter. Pay attention to these two points for the next ride
Winklevoss brothers ($2.7 billion)
You may know that Cameron Winklevoss and his twin brother Tyler accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for Facebook, but you may not know that they also accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for Facebook in The Social Network Wars. The Battle tells the story of Zuckerberg's founding of Facebook, revealing his disputes with his co-founders and the rise of Facebook. ) and then staged a new chapter as a cryptocurrency evangelist.
The two brothers teamed up to found the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. However, after the crypto market suffered a heavy blow in 2022, Gemini ran into trouble due to the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency lending company Genesi.
Despite this, they still hold about 70,000 bitcoins, enough to make them a multi-billion dollar fortune. They used some of the funds to invest $4.5 million in Real Bedford, a ninth-tier American football club.
Jed McCaleb ($2.9 billion)
Soon after Bitcoin was introduced, McCaleb was inspired to build a marketplace for users of Magic: The Gathering and created the first The first Bitcoin exchange - Mt.Gox. In February 2011, he sold the startup exchange for an undisclosed price to a developer capable of taking it to new heights, while retaining a minority stake in the company.
However, in the following years, Mt. Gox suffered a series of hacking attacks and was eventually forced to close in 2014, although at the time it was still responsible for processing up to 70% of Bitcoin transactions.
It is worth mentioning that McCaleb did not stop during the operation of Mt.Gox. He founded the Ripple cryptocurrency network in 2011 and co-founded the Stellar cryptocurrency network in 2014.
Matthew Roszak ($3.1 billion)
Matthew Roszak, co-founder of blockchain infrastructure provider Bloq, is a pioneer in the cryptocurrency space. He bought his first Bitcoin in 2012 and praised it as "one of the greatest technological, financial, industrial and humanitarian innovations today." After that, he invested in more than 20 Bitcoin startups, including BitFury, BitGo, etc., demonstrating his keen business insight.
In addition, Roszak also advocated giving $50 in digital assets to each member of Congress. Although the returns vary, this move is undoubtedly a positive attempt to popularize and promote cryptocurrencies.
Jean-Louise van der Velde (worth $3.9 billion)
After years of working in the tech sector, Jean-Louis van der Velde co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2013, which is still regarded as one of the largest exchanges with the longest execution time and the best liquidity. one. In addition, he also served as CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether until 2023. However, he is rumored to still hold about 20% of Tether's shares.
Paolo Ardoino ($3.9 billion)
Ardoino took over as Tether CEO following van der Velde’s departure and became the company’s new public face. He started his career as a programmer and joined Bitfinex as a senior software developer in 2014. As Tether rose to become the top issuer of crypto stablecoins, he also began to participate in the operations of Tether. Last year, the company's interest income reached $6.2 billion, and as a major shareholder with a 20% stake, Ardoino also reaped significant returns.
Further reading: Tether CEO’s USDT One Piece Guide: From 0 to $90 billion
Michael Saylor ($4.8 billion)
Saylor is one of Bitcoin's staunchest supporters. He once vividly compared cryptocurrency to "a group of Internet bumblebees serving the goddess of wisdom", which is impressive. He has long been a staunch supporter of Bitcoin, but his attitude towards Ethereum seems to have changed recently.
In 1989, he co-founded the software company MicroStrategy. The company subsequently purchased a large amount of Bitcoin as a corporate financial asset. As of March 2024, MicroStrategy reportedly holds $13 billion worth of Bitcoin, while Saylor himself holds over $1.2 billion in cryptocurrencies. It is worth mentioning that he revealed in 2020 that he held 17,732 bitcoins.
Further reading: MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor made a huge profit of 370 million magnesium from selling stocks! Will Bitcoin fans continue to increase their holdings?
Giancarlo Devasini ($9.2 billion)
Giancarlo Devasini serves as chief financial officer of stablecoin issuer Tether and reportedly owns a 47% stake in the company. Tether is the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with over 100 billion Tether tokens issued. At the same time, the company is one of the world's largest Bitcoin holders, with Bitcoin holdings worth more than $5 billion.
Further reading: Wall Street Journal: 86% of Tether shares are held by "only 4 people"; CTO laughs at clowns in report
Brian Armstrong ($10.9 billion)
Brian Armstrong, a former Airbnb software engineer, co-founded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in San Francisco in 2012. Coinbase is the top crypto exchage in the United States, and he currently owns about 19% of the company. Coinbase successfully went public in 2021 with a valuation of up to $100 billion, but as of June 2024, its valuation had fallen back to approximately $62.6 billion.
Despite this, the exchange still achieved a profit of $273.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. In February of this year, Armstrong sold 2% of his shares in Coinbase, cashing in $53.2 million, which he then injected into some front-end startups, including NewLimit, the life extension company he founded.
Further reading: Coinbase CEO: Institutions are rushing to invest in cryptocurrencies, and virtual assets have become a must-invest option
CZ(worth $33 billion)
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is reportedly controlled by founder CZ“CZ” Zhao, who owns 90% of the company’s shares. Founded in 2017, Binance quickly raised $15 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) (although this figure has been disputed). Since then, the company has been growing from strength to strength. By 2023, the exchange has captured half of the centralized cryptocurrency spot trading.
But in the same year, CZ suffered a setback when Binance was forced to pay a $4.3 billion fine as part of a settlement with the US government. CZ also resigned as CEO after pleading guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to four months in prison, to be executed starting in June 2024. He will become the "richest man" in American prisons.
Further reading: CZ CZ has become richer after going to jail! Fortune magazine estimated: His net worth surged by $4.1 billion in one week
Satoshi Nakamoto (worth $76.67 billion)
The mysterious founder of Bitcoin, using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, released a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System” on October 31, 2008. Since the release of the white paper, he has not made any public appearances. The white paper details his unique insights into blockchain-based digital currencies. Since then, Bitcoin has come to dominate the rapidly growing cryptocurrency industry, but the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery.
It is worth mentioning that Satoshi Nakamoto still holds about 1.1 million bitcoins and has never made any transactions. These bitcoins seem to have disappeared without a trace and are even widely believed to be lost. But if these bitcoins flow out of Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet one day, it will cause an uproar, and it will also become strong evidence that the mysterious creator of Bitcoin is still alive.
Further reading: Bitcoin breaks through 68,000, Satoshi Nakamoto is promoted to 20th place on the Forbes Rich List, squeezing out Huang Renxun?
