Is cryptocurrency really going to replace our “fiat” currency and make those who invested early on some of the richest people in the world? It’s beginning to look that way. In fact had you invested just $1,050 in Bitcoin in 2013, you’d have been able to buy 10 Bitcoins… today, that would be worth about $400 thousand dollars. That’s a 37,995% ROI. Not bad returns, if you ask me.
Here’s a list of people who bet hard on Bitcoin and other “altcoins” early on, and prove just how profitable cryptocurrency investing can be.
Chris Larsen
Net Worth: $6 billion
Chris Larsen is most well known for his involvement with Ripple which has contributed substantially to his growing net worth.
Prior to founding and heading up Ripple Labs Inc., Chris Larsen co-founded E-Loans Inc in 1996, which was an online mortgage lender becoming valued at about $1 billion by the year 2000. In 2005, Larsen sold E-Loan to Banco Popular. In 2012, after a couple of other ventures, Larsen founded Ripple Labs Inc., which owns Ripple, the software that enables the instant and direct transfer of money between two persons.
Ripple Labs has its own cryptocurrency called XRP. Although Chris Larsen was not the inventor of Ripple, Ripple Net, or XRP, he funded and managed its growth.
For a moment the world held its breath, as we watched what began to appear as cryptocurrency being valued at an almost dollar for dollar to established fiat currencies when estimating net worths. On January 4, 2018, Forbes who are known for being conservative with their net worth estimates, put Larsen’s net worth at $59 billion. Forbes seems to have since removed this figure from their catalogue entirely, however it has been well documented including on Wikipedia.
That was higher than Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg‘s net worth at the time. The two were the 5th and 6th richest people in the world respectively at that time, as per Forbes.
The valuations in the crypto hemisphere have since come down and our pulses have returned to normal. In trading, while Bitcoin was seeing its highest all time price on November 10, 2021 with a price of $68,789.63. XRP was trading at just $1.19. Thats $2.65, or -69%, less than XRP’s all time high price of $3.84 in 2017.
At that time, in 2017, everyone from juniors at big investment firms like Goldman Sachs, to policemen, postmen and builders were betting hard on XRP. Some, like a friend of my brother’s, Nick, considered that he had missed his opportunity in Bitcoin and so instead went all in on Ripple’s vision for the future.
Some, valued the ties that Ripple had with conventional businesses, like banks. Contemplating how that could potentially be threaded into conventional banking systems. Which could make it more attractive or viably traded and accepted by hedge funds and big institutional investors. Others, considered that this interlacing with the conventional banking system did not do justice to the disruption, to that very same system, that many saw Bitcoin could be. In any case, XRP zoomed to trading at a $3.84 price in 2017; making many earnest investors thousands of dollars in the process.
In 2021, the reluctance for investors both long and short to hold or trade XRP was due to the SEC accusing Ripple Labs of the token being used as a way to raise money without fulfilling the proper SEC requirements.
The SEC has claimed that “Ripple illegally raised almost $1.4 billion by selling XRP in violation of investor-protection rules, while its co-founder and chief executive [Chris Larsen], whom it also sued, reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in trading gains,” according to WJS.
In the latest, unsealed documents favor XRP. But we will have to wait and see.
Chris Larsen has an estimated net worth of $6 billion as of 2023, according to Forbes.
In COVID-19 relief efforts, Larsen and Ripple individually each donated US$1 million to five San Francisco food banks, in 2022.
Joseph Lubin
Net Worth: $5 billion
He is one of the founders of Ethereum, Joseph Lubin is also the power behind Consensys which is a blockchain software which helps developers, enterprises, and people all over the world in building next-generation applications, launching financial infrastructure, and accessing decentralized web.
Lubin is a Canadian entrepreneur who founded EthSuisse which is based in Switzerland and which contributes to Ethereum.
Through EthSuisse, Lubin has been working to extend the capabilities of the blockchain technology to store programs in addition to data, as well as facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of smart contracts.
Lubin has also been involved in cross-industry groups to advance solutions relating to governance issues in the blockchain industry.
As of 2023, Joseph Lubin is estimated to have a net worth of $5 billion.
The biggest news for Ethereum investors and others, is the awaited Ethereum 2.0. One of the problems for Ethereum, as with many other cryptocurrencies is the slow transaction speed and high costs per transactions. Currently, Ethereum can only process 15 transactions per second to up to tens of thousands of transactions per second.
‘The Merge’ or phase 1 of merging the Beacon Chain with the current Ethereum network will, if successful, convert Ethereum to the consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. Proof-of-stake (POS) is what Cardano (ADA) has used since its inception and allows it to process 50,000 transactions per second (TPS).
If successful, Ethereum 2.0 could turn this cryptocurrency into one of the transaction based currencies of the future, and not just a store of value.
Roger Ver
Net Worth: $500 million
Roger Ver is one of the earliest investors in Bitcoin. Ver is also known as an avid supporter of Bitcoin-related start-up companies, including Ripple, Blockchain, Bitpay, and Kraken, and various other cryptocurrency investing and trading platforms. He is somewhat of a controversial figure. He was convicted of felony charges for selling explosives on e-bay. However that was a long time ago and his knowledge and trading skills have earned him a whole new name altogether.
Roger Ver is known to use his influence on social media to talk about Bitcoin, which gave rise to his nickname the Bitcoin Jesus. However, in recent years, Bitcoin Jesus has been supporting Bitcoin Cash.
We estimate that Ver has a rolling 4,000 to 6,000 Bitcoins in his wallet. As of 2023, Roger Ver is estimated to be worth $500 million. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Bitcoin.com.
Up until August 1, 2019 Ver served as CEO of Bitcoin.com. At which point he transitioned to Executive Chairman.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
Net Worth: $6.3 billion
If you remember from the movie, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were the Harvard students who employed Mark Zuckerberg to work on the code for a social network that they devised. ConnectU. Based on what appeared in the movie, The Social Network, and from what we can find from the resulting court case. Instead of work on the code for the Winklevoss’ social network, Mark Zuckerberg had an idea of his own.
It seems that Zuckerberg immediately saw a better version of the ConnectU idea. Instead of making a social network like MySpace where the profiles are open to the public. He decided the focus should be on exclusivity, like one of the many exclusive Harvard clubs that Zuckerberg was excluded from.
Zuckerberg was allegedly so brazen in his approach that in the end. All that Zuckerberg had to show for his employment was, allegedly, multiple scrawled lines of code under the heading “Harvard Connection” on a whiteboard in his room.
Considerate of the right etiquette, the Winklevoss twins took their business and personal problems with Mark Zuckerberg to the then President of Harvard, President Summers. Summers told the two boys to take the matter to the courts.
In the end, after a long and drawn out court case. The twins reached a settlement with Zuckerberg for $65 million paid in Facebook shares and cash, according to Fool.
Fast forward and the Winklevoss twins had forgotten all that noise and spotted an opportunity that almost everybody else had missed. Always the keen observers they saw that Bitcoin was majorly undervalued based on their view of the future. And they were right, too.
They had the courage to act and swiftly snapped up 1% of all Bitcoins in circulation at the time. Outside of the mysterious and puzzling case of “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the pseudonymous name of the Bitcoin creator as signed off as in the original Bitcoin white paper. The Winklevoss Twins, Cameron and Tyler, are widely considered to be the first Bitcoin billionaires.
In April 2013, the Twins announced that they owned $11 million dollars worth of Bitcoin through their family office, Winklevoss Capital. The company that is headquartered in New York’s Flatiron District, set out to invest across multiple asset classes with an emphasis on providing seed funding and infrastructure to early-stage startups. However they were quickly struck by the opportunity that they saw presented itself in cryptocurrency.
By their estimates, they saw Bitcoin trading at a deep discount and while there was so little data and therefore, a margin of safety was essentially impossible to accurately plot. They decided it was time to go big or go home and considered a confident investment strategy was the right protocol. Betting that with their announcement others would follow and they would realize gains of some ten times, or even one hundred times or more, if Bitcoin hit critical mass.
It turns out that they were right, oh they were right in spades. Today they are heralded as heroes. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are considered as the people who put Bitcoin on the map for many more firms and even people at home to follow. Majorly popularizing Bitcoin with their investment and announcement approach.
Since their first major investment in Bitcoin they have since diversified their holdings into altcoins, including Ethereum. They also created their own ethereum-based token called Gemini Dollar.
The Gemini Dollar is a stable coin, a cryptocurrency that is pegged to the United States Dollar. That means it can hold fiat dollars at the same amount, or there abouts, never fluctuating more than 0.2% or so from where the U.S. dollar is trading. Providing a way to safely store fiat currency with the ability to quickly convert and trade crypto investment coins, with much lower transaction fees.
It is however linked to an exchange and so must be converted on that specific cryptocurrency exchange. That exchange is called Gemini, and it was what filled the hole in the hearts of the Twins’ since the loss of their first baby, ConnectU.
In 2015, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss founded Gemini. Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets. It is setup as a trust in New York, the Gemini Trust Company, and currently operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
It is a smaller cryptocurrency exchange, but nonetheless an innovative one. In 2017, Gemini was the first exchange to launch Bitcoin futures contracts. As of February 14, 2022, the exchanges’ 24h volume was just 0.7, as per Statistica, opposed to Binance’s 11.5 market share. Making Binance, who are currently the biggest crypto exchange in the world by 24 hour volume, about 16 times larger than Gemini.
Still, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are considered some of the biggest names in crypto. They are estimated to each own $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency and not to mention, Bloomberg has estimated their exchange, at a $7.1 billion valuation in 2021. I estimate it at closer to $3.5 billion, even when factoring in its likelihood of growth being somewhat pegged to the cryptocurrency market as a whole but also more innovative than most.
Overall, Cameron Winklevoss has an estimated net worth of $3.15 billion. And likewise Tyler Winklevoss has a net worth estimated at $3.15 billion. If cryptocurrency blows up as many, including Chamath Palihapitiya, has speculated that it will. Who knows, the Winklevoss Twins may even be as wealthy as Mark Zuckerberg one day.
Tim Draper
Net Worth: $1.5 billion
American venture capital investor Tim Draper, is perhaps best known for his history making winning bid of seized Bitcoins in July 2014. The bailiffs auctioned off seized Bitcoins from the Silk Road website and Draper won the bid.
Silk Road was an online black market and part of the dark web. The dark web is a part of the deep web which consists of websites and pages that are not indexed by Google and other search engines, it is where wealthygenius.com currently resides. Therefore these sites cannot be found by simply searching traditional engines. Instead the user employs the use of Tor browser that was originally designed to allow people in places like China, where normal web use can be restricted, or people in Turkmenistan, to access news and politics.
On the Silk Road website a user could access information and make purchases of illegal products including narcotics in large quantities and illegal firearms. Transactions took place using Bitcoin and so when the DEA took the website down they also came into possession of an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Bitcoins.
In 2014, in a sealed-bid auction that drew more than 40 bidders, Draper won at auction 29,655 Bitcoins. The Bitcoins were some of the ones that had been seized by the U.S. Marshals and were worth an estimated $17.5 million dollars at the time. Today, as of February 23, 2022, the price of one Bitcoin is $38,850, making Draper’s investment if still held, worth $1.152 billion.
Since then, Tim Draper has said that he has invested in over 50 cryptocurrency-related companies. As well as built a diversified portfolio, including promoting altcoins such as Tezos (XTZ) and Aragon (ANT).
One can smooth out their gains and losses with diversified holdings, similar to the strategy popularized by Joel Greenblatt, in “The Little Book That Beats the Market” and “The Little Book That Still Beats the Market”. While this has been done since the beginning of time in investing, Joel maximizes the approach to avoid what he describes as some of the worst mornings of his life.
As of 2023, Tim Draper is reportedly worth an estimated $1.5 billion. He is an ardent promoter of Bitcoin and decentralization.
He is also the founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Draper University, Draper Venture Network, Draper Associates and Draper Goren Holm. His most prominent investments include Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, AngelList, SolarCity, Ring, Twitter, DocuSign, Coinbase, Robinhood, Ancestry.com, Twitch, Cruise Automation, and Focus Media.
Changpeng Zhao
Net Worth: $41 billion
Changpeng Zhao is the founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Zhao was previously a member of the team that developed Blockchain.info and also served as chief technology officer of OKCoin.
Binance now boasts over 6 million users, and the exchange launched its own token in 2017 – Binance coin (BNB) – which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It is not a stablecoin either, it is an investment coin that has seen massive appreciation.
In February 2018, Forbes Magazine placed him third on its list of “The Richest People In Cryptocurrency”.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Changpeng Zhao’s net worth was estimated at $71.4 billion as of February 23, 2022, which would have made him the richest person in Canada and the 14th richest person in the world. I notice that they have since modified his net worth on Bloomberg to $16 billion but if you look here, you’ll see their original 2022 estimate had his net worth at $96.5 billion. Well, that’s a hell of a fluctuation.
Bloomberg seems to be overvaluing multiple others factors outside of the revenue and profit margins that they probably shouldn’t do as they result in inflated valuations. And cryptocurrency has hardly proven itself to be future-proof. For example, the cryptocurrency market, the possibility of it hitting critical mass and adoption and the positioning of the Binance company. A company that Changpeng Zhao is the majority owner of.
These are all important factors although I don’t agree with Bloomberg’s $71.4 billion net worth estimation for Zhao. And definitely not some $96.5 billion!
In 2021, it was reported that Changpeng Zhao owned 90% of Binance’s shares. Former Binance executives have reportedly estimated the company at $300 billion which is beyond inflated. However, I personally value the company at about $40 billion at a stretch. After factoring in his equity and estimated investment holdings. I put Zhao’s net worth at $41 billion, for 2022.
Matthew Roszak
Net Worth: $1.2 billion
Matthew Roszak is co-founder and chairman of Bloq, a leading blockchain enterprise software company. He is also a founding partner of Tally Capital, a private investment firm focused on digital assets and blockchain-enabled technology with a portfolio of over 20 investments, including Blockchain Capital, Block.One, Blockstream, Civic, Factom and QTUM.
Roszak is a blockchain investor, entrepreneur, and advocate. He has spent over 20 years in private equity and venture capital with Advent International, Keystone Capital Partners, Platinum Venture Partners, and SilkRoad Equity, and has invested over $1 billion of capital (from start-up to IPO) in a broad range of industries.
Roszak claimed that he was the first person to bestow Bitcoins on Richard Branson and Bill Clinton – he can certainly afford to as he has reportedly built up a portfolio worth about $1.2 billion.
He was an early adopter of cryptocurrencies, having stumbled upon it in 2011. He is also a founding partner of Blockchain Capital’s first fund, Tally Capital, which now invests in around 20 start-ups.
As of 2023, Roszak is thought to have a net worth of some $1.2 billion dollars.
Anthony Di Iorio
Net Worth: $1 billion
Anthony Di Iorio is a Canadian entrepreneur and co-founder of Ethereum. He was an early investor in Bitcoin.
Di Iorio is the founder and CEO of the blockchain company Decentral, and the associated Jaxx wallet. He served as the first chief digital officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
He has been a proponent of the cryptocurrency movement. His approach has been to fund new cryptocurrencies in their early stages, before cashing 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.
Tesla
Crypto Holdings: $1.5 billion
Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk, through Tesla, surprised the world with an announcement of their having converted $1.5 billion of Tesla company reserve capital into Bitcoin in 2021.
Since Tesla’s investment Bitcoin has been on quite a ride, with highs reaching $68,789.63 and lows hitting $29,807. However at current, the price is much the same as at Tesla’s original time of purchase. Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin is worth about $1.5 billion, as of 2023.
Tesla is clearly endorsing Bitcoin as a store of value, and in fact, have discontinued the accepting of Bitcoin as a means of purchasing a Tesla. Expressing concerns over climate change.
Elon Musk has said that Tesla intends to resume the accepting of Bitcoin for transactions just as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.
Brian Armstrong
Net Worth: $10.5 billion
Armstrong’s business, Coinbase, remains the popular entry point for cryptocurrency trading in the US. Founded in 2012, Coinbase has two main elements: a brokerage side, where retail customers can buy cryptocurrency using a bank account, and an exchange for larger traders.
Coinbase raised $300 million in October 2018 in a financing round led by Tiger Global that valued the company at $8 billion. In 2021, after Coinbase had gone public on April 14, ended the day at $328.28, the company was valued at $85.7 billion counting all of its outstanding shares. It is currently, as of February 25, 2022, trading at about half that price. We estimate the stable value of the company at about $45 billion. Armstrong owns a stake of about 19% in Coinbase.
Factoring in his stock in the company he co-founded with Fred Ehrsam, Coinbase. As well as his own cryptocurrency holdings. We estimate Brian Armstrong is thought to be worth an estimated $10.5 billion, as of 2023.
Fred Ehrsam has a net worth estimated at $2.1 billion, as of 2023, according to Forbes.
A problem I see with some people’s relationship to cryptocurrency is a desire to maximize their opportunity. But one need only fill their cup and move on. Another opportunity will come along.
Oh yes, and be careful with your cup.
