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The rich Forbes 400 list for 2021 welcomes six new cryptocurrency billionaires. These names are all important in the crypto industry. These six people joined a Ripple co-founder who was on the list last year. In total, there are now seven names on the list who are crypto billionaires. This is the first time that seven billionaires who have built their fortunes in cryptocurrencies have been on America’s richest list.
Related reading | Forbes names Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen as richest in crypto
Although none of them are in the top 100, the growth of the crypto industry over the past few years has resulted in a noticeable increase in their net worth.
7 crypto billionaires on the Forbes list
According to a Forbes from October 5 item, crypto billionaires are collectively worth around $ 55.1 billion. The newcomers join Chris Larsen, who co-founded Ripple in 2012. Larsen stepped down as CEO of Ripple in December 2016. However, he remains executive chairman. He appeared on the list last year with a net worth of $ 2.7 billion. Today, his fortune is around $ 6 billion. This increase in net worth has occurred despite the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC.
The list of newcomers includes the richest crypto billionaire, Sam Bankman-Fried. According to Forbes, his net worth is $ 22.5 billion, almost half of the total value of the cryptocurrency on the list. The 29-year-old is the richest under-30 billionaire since Mark Zuckerberg and is the youngest on the list. Bankman-Fried is the founder and CEO of FTX Cryptocurrency exchange. His fortune nearly doubled with the closing of FTX’s $ 900 million Series B fundraiser. The majority of its wealth is tied to stocks and FTX tokens (FTT).
Related reading | Crypto Exchange FTX Raises $ 900 Million At $ 18 Billion Valuation, Breaks With Binance
The Forbes List also includes Coinbase founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. Armstrong owns around 19% of Coinbase. Although Ehrsam left the company in 2017, he remains a member of the board of directors. He is also the co-founder and managing partner of a crypto-focused investment firm. Paradigm.
Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, twin co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini are also on the list. They each have a net worth of $ 4.3 billion.
Finally, Jed McCaleb, one of the early pioneers in the blockchain space, is also a newcomer to the Forbes list. He co-founded and served as Ripple’s CTO until 2013. He also started the first major bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox. Most of his $ 3 billion net worth comes from his stake in XRP as a co-founder of Ripple.
Growing interest in crypto increases number of billionaires
According to Forbes, the rise in the number of crypto billionaires is primarily the product of growing interest in the crypto space. Soaring digital currency prices are attracting more institutional investors. Additionally, several startups, including Ripple, Kraken, Circle, BlockFi, and eToro, have announced or hinted that they are considering going public. If this happens, other names in the crypto space may appear on the Forbes 400 listing.
Total crypto market cap at $2.18 Trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap from TradingView.com
In addition, more and more regulators around the world are trying to recognize cryptocurrencies. The regulations they issue directly or indirectly affect the movement of the market. This movement, in turn, affects the wealth of those in space.
Featured image from Forbes, Chart from TradingView.com
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