Unveiling the myth of wealth in the crypto: How did they make their first 10 million?

Whenever the market fluctuates, some friends can't help but exclaim: "Why are others achieving financial freedom?"

Today, let's take a look at how the top 10 wealthiest people in the crypto world made their fortunes. Where did their first pot of gold come from? What are their unique strategies? After reading, remember to take notes carefully, as these are paths and pitfalls walked by the masters!

01 Overview of Famous Crypto Billionaires

Note: The above is an estimation of public wealth, and actual market fluctuations may affect asset value.

Next, let's look at the get-rich stories of these crypto billionaires and how they earned their first pot of gold.

1. Satoshi Nakamoto

When talking about the crypto billionaire, one cannot bypass the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. He published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008 and officially launched the Bitcoin network in 2009, known as the "Father of Cryptocurrency". His true identity remains unknown, and he has never appeared publicly, remaining one of the biggest mysteries in the crypto world.

Although no one knows who he is, the approximately 1.1 million bitcoins he mined early on were his first pot of gold. These bitcoins have rarely been moved or sold, yet have rapidly appreciated with Bitcoin's price surge, now worth about $125 billion! One could say the more successful Bitcoin becomes, the more valuable his holdings become. However, Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared after 2010, with some speculating he might have lost his private key or is no longer alive. Regardless of the truth, the wealth myth he created through first-mover advantage is undoubtedly the ceiling of the crypto world.

2. CZ

As the founder of Binance, CZ's experience is almost a textbook case of crypto entrepreneurship. CZ was originally a technical guy who wrote code and had previously helped establish OKCoin exchange before leaving shortly after. His first pot of gold can be traced back to 2014 when he sold his Shanghai house for about 1,500 bitcoins (when bitcoin was around $600 each). Bitcoin's subsequent surge allowed CZ to achieve significant asset appreciation, laying the capital foundation for his later entrepreneurship.

In 2017, he keenly seized the crypto bull market to establish Binance. With an efficient matching engine, user-friendly experience, and BNB platform token as its ecological core, Binance rose to become one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges within months. Binance's initial profit model was simple and brutal: transaction fees + platform token appreciation. Think about it, exchanges are like collecting "toll fees" - the more active the market and transactions, the more they earn. Afterward, CZ's personal wealth grew exponentially with Binance's success, once topping the list of Chinese billionaires. It can be said that creating an exchange put CZ on the fast track to wealth, and his initial fearless all-in on bitcoin was a crucial step in his wealth journey.

Justin Sun's name should be familiar to everyone. At 19, he became an early representative of Ripple in the Greater China region and later created a social app "PeiWo" that received investment. However, what truly helped Justin Sun earn his first pot of gold was the TRON project he initiated in 2017. During the ICO boom, Justin Sun raised tens of millions of dollars by issuing TRX tokens, accumulating massive initial capital. Subsequently, with the crypto market's surge, TRX's price skyrocketed hundredfold, instantly multiplying the value of his holdings. As TRON's founder, he held a large number of initial tokens, achieving a wealth leap during that bull market.

Afterward, Justin Sun began bold marketing and capital operations: spending $4.56 million to win a lunch with Buffett, becoming famous overnight; successively acquiring Poloniex exchange, taking a stake in Huobi (now renamed HTX), and building his crypto empire. Justin Sun's style is simple and crude, focusing on technical tokens with one hand and market attention with the other. Although public opinions about him are mixed, he indeed seized the opportunity given to young people by the times and entered the crypto rich list.

1. King of Exchanges

The first category is "becoming the boss of an exchange", with CZ and Star Xu being outstanding representatives. The core of exchange profitability lies in "collecting transaction fees + building ecosystem". As long as users trade on your platform, you'll have a continuous stream of commissions. Another exchange giant, Coinbase's Armstrong, chose the compliant listing route, steadily obtaining licenses and listing on Nasdaq. Now, the exchange industry shows a clear head effect, earning transaction fees while further amplifying revenue through platform token ecosystems. The charm of this path is that as long as you stand at the entrance of industry capital flow, wealth will continuously flow towards you.

2. Long-term Bitcoin Holding

The first model is now difficult for most people to achieve. The second model is long-term Bitcoin holding, in other words, making a big bet and holding potential crypto assets long-term, using time to multiply value. Michael Saylor is one of the extreme Bitcoin betting representatives. Even starting to reserve large Bitcoin purchases from 2020, he is now among the top three global Bitcoin holders. If you believe in Bitcoin's potential for tenfold or hundredfold growth, early accumulation will undoubtedly bring amazing compound returns. Of course, the premise of this route is having extraordinary vision and strong belief in holding, otherwise, you'll easily be washed out in extreme market fluctuations.

3. Ecosystem Builders

The third category are ecosystem builders who often possess both technical talent and capital insight, acquiring massive wealth by building entirely new ecosystem systems. Vitalik, who led Ethereum's development, started writing the whitepaper at 19 and still leads technical iterations today. From 2014 to now, Devasini and Paolo made USDT the core liquidity of the entire market, with ecosystem feeding back token value. Jeremy Allaire launched USDC, spending over 10 years establishing its "on-chain dollar" position. Justin Sun built a comprehensive layout from blockchain, stablecoins, to exchanges, continuously refining his approach. These people didn't just "catch the wind", but built moats with time, long-term BUIDL, earning their current status.

03 What Can Ordinary People Learn from Crypto Giants?

Here are some insights to help everyone navigate crypto's turbulent waters with fewer pitfalls:

1. Sharp Vision, Quick Action

Satoshi Nakamoto created BTC, CZ founded Binance - these wealth legends started with a bold, imaginative idea. When an opportunity arrives, decisively jump in; don't wait until most people understand before acting, as by then, the opportunity is gone. Opportunities always belong to the first movers.

2. Hold Your Chips

Crypto giants' common wealth secret isn't frequent trading, but holding good projects long-term. Ordinary people's biggest mistake is chasing highs and selling lows, unable to hold coins. Either don't enter the market, or if you do, have faith - hold good assets without unnecessary interference, and time will reward you generously.

3. Find Your Advantage

Everyone has professional strengths. Combining this advantage with crypto opportunities significantly increases success rates. Ripple's founder Larsen understands finance and cross-border payments, CZ knows technology and matching engines - they all successfully bridged their expertise to new tracks. Think about your strengths and see if there are related directions in the crypto field to explore deeply.

4. Learn Continuously

The crypto industry changes rapidly. These giants share a common trait: maintaining sharp sensitivity to new knowledge and continuous learning passion. Blockchain introduces new concepts constantly; without ongoing learning, you'll easily miss the next opportunity or fall into traps. Remember, surviving in crypto, learning and self-upgrading is always the highest ROI investment.

Finally, a friendly reminder: While crypto wealth legends are tempting, always remember high returns always accompany high risks! Though you can learn from giants' experiences, no one can completely replicate another's life. Ultimately, finding your own money-making path that suits you is more important than blindly following others.