Over the last year, they’ve been a lot of changes in the prices of cryptocurrencies. These changes have birthed seven new billionaires who have joined the list of richest crypto billionaires in the world. That is to say, more people acquire wealth through cryptocurrency in the last year than before.
The richest crypto and blockchain billionaires list is led by the founder and CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao “CZ” with a net worth of $65 billion.
19 Richest Crypto Billionaires In The World
According to Forbes, below is the list of the richest crypto and blockchain billionaires in 2022
19. Tim Draper
Age: 63
Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Source of Wealth: Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies
Nationality: United States
Rounding up the list of richest crypto billionaires is Tim Draper with a net worth of $1.2 billion. Draper is a founding partner of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. He first invested in Bitcoin in 2012. Two years later, he bought 29,656 bitcoin for $18.7 million or just $632 per coin from the U.S. Marshals.
18. Matthew Roszak
Age: 49
Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
Source of Wealth: Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies
Nationality: United States
Matthew Roszak is the co-founder and chairman of Bloq, a blockchain technology startup that consults on projects such as helping banks store digital assets. He has investments in various crypto startups, including popular exchanges Coinbase and Kraken. Roszak has a net worth of $1.4 billion.
17. Michael Saylor
Age: 57
Net Worth: $1.6 Billion
Source of Wealth: MicroStrategy
Nationality: United States
Among the richest billionaires is Michael Saylor who is the CEO of the business software firm MicroStrategy. Over the last two years, the company’s stock has quadrupled. Michael Saylor has a net worth of $1.6 billion.
16. Kim Hyoung-nyon
Age: 46
Net Worth: $1.9 Billion
Source of Wealth: Upbit
Nationality: South Korea
Kim Hyoung-nyon is cofounder and executive vice president of Dunamu, which operates South Korea’s dominant cryptocurrency exchange. Hyoung-nyon owns about a 14% stake in the crypto exchange company which he co-founded with fellow crypto billionaire Song Chi-hyung. Dunamu was valued at $17 billion.
15. Fred Ehrsam
Age: 34
Net Worth: $2.1 Billion
Source of Wealth: Coinbase
Nationality: United States
Sitting at number 15 on the list of richest crypto billionaires is Fred Ehrsam with a net worth of $2.1 billion. Ehrsam is the co-founder of Coinbase and now runs Paradigm, which invests mainly in crypto companies and new tokens. Although he left Coinbase in 2017, Ehrsma still holds a 6% stake in the company.
13 and 14. Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah
Age: Finzer (31) and Atallah (30)
Net Worth: $2.2 Billion
Source of Wealth: OpenSea
Nationality: United States
Finzer and Atallah are both co-founders of the blockchain startup OpenSea, an early player in the booming NFT market. In January, OpenSea raised a $13.3 billion valuation up from $1.5 billion just six months earlier. The duo holds an estimated 18.5% stake in the company. They have a net worth of $2.2 billion each.
11 and 12 Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau
Age: Viswanathan (34) and Lau (32)
Net Worth: $2.4 Billion
Source of Wealth: Alchemy
Nationality: United States
Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau are co-founders of the blockchain decacorn Alchemy, whose software powers thousands of blockchain-based Web3 companies. The duo met in 2011 at Stanford and has since built over 10 products together. In February, the company raised $200 million at a $10.2 billion valuation. Viswanathan and Lau both own an estimated 26% stake in the company.
10. Jed McCale
Age: 47
Net Worth: $2.5 Billion
Source of Wealth: Ripple, Stellar
Nationality: United States
Sitting at number 10 of the richest crypto billionaires is Jed McCale with a net worth of $2.5 billion. McCale made his fortune from Ripple Labs and XRP, the payments-focused cryptocurrency project he co-founded in 2012. Following his departure in 2013, McCalee has sold much of XRP in periodic increments adhering to a separation agreement he struck with Ripple Labs. McCale is also the founder and chief technology officer of cryptocurrency Stellar.
9. Barry Silbert
Age: 45
Net Worth: $3.5 Billion
Source of Wealth: Digital Currency Group
Nationality: United States
Barry Silbert is one of the richest crypto and blockchain billionaires with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Silbert is the founder of the investment group Digital Currency Group (DCG). The company manages over $28 billion of crypto assets, as well as CoinDesk, popular crypto news and events company.
8. Song Chi-hyung
Age: 43
Net Worth: $3.7 Billion
Source of Wealth: Upbit
Nationality: South Korea
Song Chi-hyung is the founder of South Korea’s leading crypto exchange, Upbit. Chi-hyung who has a net worth of $3.7 billion is estimated to own about a quarter of Upbit’s parent company, Dunamu which was valued at $17 billion.
6 and 7. Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss
Age: 40 (Cameron) 40 (Tyler)
Net Worth: $4 Billion
Source of Wealth: Bitcoin
Nationality: United States
The twin brothers Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss are the co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini in 2014; today it processes about $200 million a day in trades. Together, they also own the digital art auction platform Nifty Gateway. Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss have a net worth of $4 billion.
5. Chris Larsen
Age: 62
Net Worth: $4.3 Billion
Source of Wealth: Ripple
Nationality: United States
Sitting at number five on the list of crypto and blockchain billionaires is the co-founder and executive chairman of blockchain company Ripple, Chris Larsen. The Ripple (XRP) token is currently, the 8th largest cryptocurrency in the world. Chris Larsen has a net worth of $4.2 billion.
4. Gary Wang
Age: 28
Net Worth: $5.9 Billion
Source of Wealth: FTX
Nationality: United States
Gary Wang is one of the richest crypto billionaires with a net worth of $5.9 billion. Wang is the co-founder and chief technology officer of FTX. He currently holds 1 16% stake in FTX’s global business and over $600 million worth of FTT, the native token of FTX.
3. Brian Armstrong
Age: 39
Net Worth: $6.6 Billion
Source of Wealth: Coinbase
Nationality: United States
Sitting at number three on the list of crypto billionaires is the CEO and founder of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong. The company went public in direct offering on Nasdaq on April 14, 2021, with a market capitalization of $100 billion. Armstrong owns a stake of about 19% in Coinbase, which earned $322 million in profits on nearly $1.3 billion in revenue in 2020.
2. Sam Bankman-Fried
Age: 30
Net Worth: $24 Billion
Source of Wealth: FTX
Nationality: United States
Sam Bankman-Fried is the second richest crypto and blockchain billionaire with a net worth of $24 billion. Bankman-Fried is the founder and CEO of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange. In 2021, investors valued FTX at $18 billion, making him one of the youngest richest billionaires under 35. In January 2022 the exchange and its U.S. operations hit a combined $40 billion valuation in January 2022.
Bankman-Fred owns half of FTX and more than $7 billion worth of FTT, the platform’s native token. He has also vowed to give away his entire fortune over his lifetime.
1. Changpeng Zhao
Age: 44
Net Worth: $65 Billion
Source of Wealth: Binance
Nationality: Canada
Changpeng Zhao “CZ” is the crypto’s richest billionaire and the founder and CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Zhao owns at least 70% state in Binance. In 2021, the company reportedly facilitated trades worth over $9.5 trillion, over two-thirds of all trading volume handled by centralized crypto exchanges. Changpeng Zhao has a net worth of $65 billion.
