Forbes has recently published its list of 2,095 billionaires. Within this list, only four of these entries were in regards to entrepreneurs who made their fortune through crypto. As it stands now, the richest man in the crypto industry is Micree Zhan, the co-founder of Bitmain. Zhan appears at Number 690, clocking in at a net worth of $3.3 billion.
The 1% Goes Global
While it may not be to everyone’s taste, some good news has come amid these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s already established that amid trying times, people turn desperate and try unconventional forms of assets to try and protect themselves. Crypto was subject to this as well, with many of its primary crypto forms plummeting in value because of it.
However, in this significant time, the crypto industry can celebrate some mainstream integration into the world at large. The industry has developed to such a level that the upper crusts of its industry can be mentioned around the globe as billionaires.
The Big Names
As one would expect during this day and age, the biggest name in this list is none other than Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, who accrued a net worth of $113 billion. Alongside him stand big names like Warren Buffett, the legendary investor, as well as Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft. Bernard Arnault stands alongside these men, as the owner of LVMH.
The crypto industry gave its big names, as well, with four being added to the list. These four are Micree Zhan, the co-founder of Bitmain ($3.3 billion), Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple ($2.6 billion), Jihan Wu, another Bitmain co-founder ($1.8 billion) and none other than Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase ($1 billion).
A Little History On Each
Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan both threw their lot in China’s crypto mining industry, both founding Bitmain Technologies back in 2013. Sad as it is, it wasn’t rainbows and sunshine, as China’s corporate arena is a vicious one indeed. Zhan was ousted from the firm back in October of 2019, even if he stands as the largest shareholder. Bitmain is known as the largest crypto mining company in China, specializing in the selling of ASIC-chip miners.
Chris Larsen stands as the co-founder of Ripple, having started it back in 2012. Ripple was developed to try and help the facilitation of international payments for banks, leveraging blockchain technology to do so. From there, Ripple took Santander and American Express, and Larsen himself eventually stepped down as CEO back in December of 2016. He is, however, still an Executive Chairman.
Brian Armstrong needs no introductions, being a relatively outspoken CEO of Coinbase. Coinbase itself is the largest crypto exchange in the US, and Armstrong co-founded it in San Francisco all the way back in 2012. In recent news, Coinbase had accrued $300 million in a financing round back in October of 2018.
