Who are the richest cryptocurrency investors?

Early crypto pioneers have made billions from their investments – find out who the movers and shakers in the digital currency world are Given the volatility of cryptocurrencies, pinning down the actual wealth of crypto investors is tricky. That said, there can be little doubt that a select number of pioneers have made a considerable fortune from their cryptocurrency investments.
Here are the richest – according to forbes magazine – and how they made their money .

1 - Nakamoto

This is the pseudonym used by the person who created bitcoin. There is considerable speculation on who “Nakamoto” might be, or whether it is more than one person. Either way, it is believed that he owns around one million bitcoins, worth approximately $19bn, thus making him one of the richest people in the world .

2 Chris Larsen

Chris Larsen made his crypto fortune, with a net worth of around $7.5bn to $8bn, harnessing cryptocurrencies for use by the major banks. He is the executive chairman and co-founder of Ripple, which uses blockchain technology and is a system for verifying and recording transactions of all kinds of assets, including its own currency, XRP. He had an impressive history of backing technology winners, including the first peer-to-peer lender in the US.

3 Joseph Lubin

One of the Canadian founders of blockchain platform Ethereum, Lubin is also the power behind ConsenSys, which helps launch or spin off cryptocurrencies around the world. Inspired by an influential paper written by “Nakamoto” in the early years of cryptocurrency, Lubin believed that “shared infrastructure” could serve as “an organizing principle for Earth, the world, the planet”. It is believed he has amassed a cryptocurrency net worth of between $1bn to $5bn.

4 Changpeng Zhao

Known as just “CZ” to his friends and admirers, he founded the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, which now boasts six million users. The exchange launched its own token last year – binance coin (BNB) – which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. CZ is thought to have accumulated crypto-wealth of up to £2bn, following the launch of Binance in 2017.

5 Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss

The former Olympic Games’ rowers famously sued Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their HavardConnection (now ConnectU) idea when creating Facebook. The $65m they secured in the lawsuit helped fund their subsequent venture capital projects, including bitcoin. A few years ago, it was claimed the brothers owned around 1 per cent of all the world’s bitcoins, which would put their crypto-wealth today at more than $1bn. In 2015, the pair launched a cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini. They also have holdings in other cryptocurrencies, including ether.

6 Matthew Roszak

Rosnak claimed that he was the first person to bestow bitcoins on Richard Branson and Bill Clinton. Then again, he can afford to be generous, having built up a portfolio worth around $1bn. He was an early adopter of cryptocurrencies, having stumbled across bitcoin in 2011. He is also a founding partner of Blockchain Capital's first fund, Tally Capital, which now invests in around 20 start-ups.

7 Anthony Diiorio

One of Ethereum’s founders, Anthony Diiorio has been a champion of the cryptocurrency movement. His approach has been to seed new cryptocurrencies in their early stages, before moving out and redeploying capital in new ones. His other investments include Qtum, Vechain and Zcash. His cryptocurrency net worth is thought to be as high as $1bn.

8 Brian Armstrong

If it’s true that the real profiteers in the Gold Rush were the people who made the pickaxes and shovels, so it may well prove for cryptos – and if that is the case then Armstrong holds pole position. His business, Coinbase, remains the popular entry point for cryptocurrency trading in the US. Founded in 2012, it has two main elements: a brokerage side, where retail customers can buy cryptocurrency using a bank account, and an exchange for larger traders. His cryptocurrency net worth is around $900m to $1bn.

9 Brock Pierce

Former child actor Brock Pierce founded venture capital firm Blockchain Capital (BCC) with Bart and Bradford Stephens in 2013. The company saw the largest ICO (initial coin offering) of 2017, raising around $700m. He has since left Blockchain Capital, but has amassed considerable wealth from his Blockchain investments – a fortune believed to be in the region of $700m to $1bn.

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