Tim Draper, a venture capitalist famous for his bitcoin price predictions, has praised El Salvador’s vision of embracing this new technology and talked about the benefits of this decision for its people. According to Draper, bitcoin will make El Salvador one of the richest countries in the world in the next 30 or 40 years. […]
Bitcoin News
Satoshi Nakamoto’s Growing Fortune Nears Entry Into World’s Top 25 Richest Individuals
2024 has unfolded as a flourishing year for bitcoin’s valuation, as its market capitalization breezed past the trillion milestone, positioning the cryptocurrency as the world’s tenth-largest asset by overall market valuation. This uptick in price has significantly boosted the net worth of Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, elevating the value of the inventor’s holdings […]
Bitcoin News
Ethereum Still Bullish: Richest ETH Wallets Go On Massive $124 Billion Buying Spree
Ethereum whales have been bullish for a long time now, even through the stretched-out bear market of the last year, and their accumulation trends prove this. According to Santiment, the largest Ethereum wallets have been stacking up ETH at an alarming rate, suggesting that these large investors expect the price to keep going up.
Ethereum Whales Buy 4 Billion Worth Of Tokens
Santiment reports that the top 200 Ethereum whales have been buying ETH since November 21, 2022. This was just a few weeks after the FTX crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy, sending cryptocurrency prices across the space into a downward spiral. ETH prices would eventually fall as low as 0 and as fear grew, so did the opportunity for buying.
However, even after prices began to recover once more, breaking above ,000, these large investors did not reduce their buying. Santiment reveals that they continued to purchase tokens and by November 2022, these top 200 Ethereum wallets have bought up 4 billion worth of ETH.
In total, these addresses increased their holdings by a whopping 30%, and they now hold a collective 62.76 million tokens. This figure means that the top 200 Ethereum wallets now command approximately 52% of the total ETH supply.
The whale buying spree has not been the only bullish development for Ethereum though as there has been a marked increase in the number of new ETH wallets that are being created. Santiment notes that on Tuesday, November 21, a total of 94,700 new wallets were created on the network, a new 4-month high. This could point to a return of interest in the ecosystem and adoption could trigger a price recovery.
ETH On The Cusp Of Recovery
Although the price of Ethereum has been hit hard following the news of Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao hitting the space hard, it has maintained a reasonable price level just below ,000. This ensures that forecasts are still valid and the chances of recovery remain high.
Crypto analyst FieryTrading has forecasted that the Ethereum price could cross back into the ,350 territory soon. The analyst notes that the [rice had been on a continuous consolidation trend following the rise from ,500 to ,100. Given this, FieryTrading expects the altcoin to break out of its current ‘bull-flag’ as the market rallies.
“Bull-flags are bullish continuation patterns, to bullish price action is the most likely result from this pattern,” FieryTrading explains. Once this breakout happens, then the analyst places the “Target at 2400$ for the coming weeks.”
ETH is currently sitting at ,996 at the time of this writing with small losses of 0.45% in the last 24 hours. It is performing better than Bitcoin which has fallen 2.24% in the same timeframe to trade at ,480.
Mexico’s Third Richest Man Says No To Bonds, Yes To Bitcoin
Ricardo Salinas Pliego is the third richest man in Mexico who has been making headlines for his stance on bitcoin. The billionaire saw Elektra, a supermarket chain, become the first to accept bitcoin payments in the future. He has also been a strong advocate for investing in the digital asset as opposed to traditional assets. This time around, the billionaire has shocked investors after revealing that he now holds the majority of his portfolio in bitcoin.
60% To Bitcoin
During the Bitcoin conference that is being held in Miami, billionaire Ricardo Salinas made a shocking revelation. He said that the majority of his portfolio was in bitcoin and bitcoin equities, making up a total of 60% of the said portfolio. This is up significantly from the 10% of his total net worth that Salinas had said was in the digital asset last year. Going by this means that Salinas currently has billions of dollars worth of exposure to the pioneer cryptocurrency.
Bit
Although the allocated portion of the billionaire’s portfolio to bitcoin is large, it is no surprise that he chose to take the plunge. For the longest time, Salinas has been advising investors to put a portion of their portfolios into the digital asset. Often advising against storing wealth in fiat currencies.
BTC continues on downtrend | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
It’s A No For Bonds
Bonds have been a way for the ultra-wealthy to secure safe returns for the longest time. However, with inflation rates rising faster than the interest rates on these bonds, interest in them has declined over time and Salinas looks to have sworn them off completely.
When asked about his portfolio allocation, the billionaire said that he did not have any portion of his portfolio in bitcoin. Rather, he had a liquid portfolio that was made up of bitcoin and other hard asset stocks. “I definitely don’t have any bonds,” Salinas revealed. “I have a liquid portfolio—I have 60% in Bitcoin and Bitcoin equities, and then 40% in hard asset stocks like oil and gas and gold miners, and that’s where I am.”
Related Reading | The NFL’s First Team To Accept Crypto? The Tennessee Titans
He proceeded to blast bond investments which he said were a terrible choice. Given that interest rates have refused to go up and the resulting bond sell-offs that have been taking place globally, the billionaire’s stance on bonds is not a shock.
“Bond investment is a terrible investment. I wouldn’t touch a bond with a 10-foot pole,” the billionaire said. “It’s just the worst thing. I mean, the best thing that can happen to you is you get back your 0. That’s the best thing that can happen.”
Ricardo Salinas Pliego is rated as the third richest man in Mexico with a net worth o around billion. He owns Grupo Elektra, a retail supermarket chain, a company that he inherited from his father, and TV Azteca, a Mexican TV broadcaster.
Featured image from OI Canadian, chart from TradingView.com
NewsBTC
From McDonald’s Burger-flipper To Crypto Billionaire, Binance CEO Ranks 11th Among World’s Richest
Changpeng Zhao, a former McDonald’s employee and the CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is the world’s richest crypto billionaire. His net worth comparable to that of top tech tycoons such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and others.
Binance CEO Is Worth Billion
According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao’s net worth is billion. Zhao’s riches might be even bigger, given the wealth estimate excludes his personal crypto assets, which include Bitcoin and his company’s own token. Last year, the value of Binance Coin, commonly known as BNB, soared by almost 1,300 %.
BNB/USD Surged over 1,300% last year. Source: TradingView
Last year, the price of BNB surged at a faster rate than the price of Bitcoin, which increased by around 63%, and Ethereum, which rose by over 420%. BNB reached a high of 5 in May of last year before falling to 1 by the end of the month.
Larry Ellison of Oracle was the 10th richest person on the list, with a net worth of 7 billion, followed by Gautam Adani of the Adani Group, who had a net worth of .6 billion. Binance was founded only four and a half years ago. When compared to other legacy enterprises created decades ago, it’s a young company.
The Crypto Richest. Source: Bloomberg
Forbes estimated Zhao’s net worth was projected to be .9 billion in August 2021. However, Hurun Global Rich List 2021 estimates Zhao’s fortune was billion, up 208% over the previous year. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was ranked 128th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of .4 billion, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was ranked 279th with a .9 billion fortune.
Related article | Binance’s CZ Wants Entrepreneurs To Create Coins. Does His Argument Make Sense?
Binance: One Man, World Crypto Giant
Though the company has been kicked out of its bithplace China, it is now being investigated by regulators around the world. The US Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service are looking into whether Binance Holdings Ltd., which Zhao owns, is being used as a conduit for money laundering and tax evasion.
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with daily cryptocurrency trade volumes exceeding 0 billion on the majority of days in 2021. Binance is by far the largest crypto exchange in terms of both spot and futures markets.
CZ’s continued attempts to get operational licenses in various jurisdictions across the world is indicative of the firm’s success. Despite regulatory challenges, Binance continues to collaborate and acquire new companies in order to remain a leader in the crypto trading sector.
Binance generated billion in revenue in 2021, which is more than three times the billion generated by Coinbase. Binance has multiple whale accounts that buy Bitcoin on a regular basis, in addition to CZ’s personal crypto holdings.
According to Bloomberg, Binance appears to be looking for a new home in the UAE and Singapore. The Binance CEO has been visiting royalty and hosting meals near the Burj Khalifa in Abu Dhabi. According to Bloomberg, the UAE royal family is eager to attract Binance to Abu Dhabi as it develops its own crypto zone.
The crypto exchange just completed the acquisition of Swipe, a popular crypto Visa card provider with over 70 million locations worldwide.
Related article | Binance ’s Road To Compliance Continues With A List Of Rights For Crypto Users
Featured Image: Shutter shock | Charts by Bloomberg, and TradingView
NewsBTC
Are These The 6 Richest People In The Crypto Industry ?
There’s a lot of money in the crypto industry, that much is for sure. And we’re at a stage in which there are projects that are advanced enough for their creators to have already reaped the benefits. And then, there’s Bitcoin. Early adopters and believers, extremely long-term hodlers, are sitting on a fortune. Who’s made the most money, though?
An extremely difficult question to answer. The pseudonymous nature of blockchain technology makes inquiries like this a tall order. There are wallets that nobody knows who they belong to and hold thousands of coins. There are billionaires that have announced investments, but nobody knows which wallets belong to them. Not everyone in the crypto industry is a public figure. Not everyone in the space wants attention.
Related Reading | Ethereum Foundation Vitalik Buterin Talks ETH Inflation Rate
Taking that into account, the Coin Bureau YouTube channel launched an investigation and reached credible conclusions. If we agree that the list is for entertainment purposes and heavily western-focused, we can have fun with it. So, let’s do that.
Who Are The Six Richest Persons In The Crypto Industry?
To make this fair, the Coin Bureau focused on people who hold most of their assets in cryptocurrencies. That makes people like Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor ineligible, because most of their fortunes are tied to their companies. It also discards all the billionaires that have a small percentage of their fortunes in crypto.
So, now that the rules are clear, let’s get into it.
6.- Tim Draper and Max Keiser
Tied at number five, two very different Bitcoin believers.
Tim Draper: This venture capital investor made the purchase of a lifetime when he acquired all of the Bitcoin confiscated from the Silk Road dark web marketplace. “The US Marshall service auctioned off 30000 BTC which landed in Tim’s wallet for 19 million Dollars.” Those are now worth close to B. Draper is not part of the crypto industry, but, practicing diversification he also holds Bitcoin Cash, XRP, and Tezos.
Max Keiser: This broadcaster and filmmaker is the reason many people around the world know about Bitcoin. An early believer, “In a 2013 episode of The Keyser Report, Max announced that he had become a Bitcoin millionaire.” As per Coin Bureau calculations, that means he held 25K BTC. Assuming he continued to buy, and bought a modest 5K more, his holdings are now worth B.
5.- Vitalik Buterin:
Ethereum’s co-founder starred in a Twitter public fight previously covered by NewsBTC. “Vitalik’s Ethereum wallet address has been known since late 2018 when he shared it over Twitter in response to criticism over Ethereum’s pre-mine.” This key figure in the crypto industry now holds 334K ETH, which at today’s prices is approximately .5 B.
4.- The Winklevoss Broders
It’s public knowledge, the Winklevoss twins invested part of their Facebook settlement in a then-new idea. The story goes as follows, “While on Holyday in Ibiza in 2013, Tyler and Cameron learned about Bitcoin and subsequently decided to buy 1% of all the BTC in circulation.” With that, they founded the Gemini exchange, a key component of the crypto industry. Coin Bureau estimated that each twin holds “between 2-3 billion dollars in cryptocurrency, mostly Bitcoin.”
3.- Chris Larsen
One of the biggest criticism that the crypto industry wields against Ripple is the incredible amounts of XRP that its founders and the organization hold. Well, “the third biggest crypto billionaire is Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen who holds anywhere between 5.2 and 7.8 billion XRP.”
It’s worth noting that, “All XRP allocated to Ripple’s founders is subject to a vesting schedulle that will last untill 2026, assuming the SEC doesnt succed in its case against Ripple, in which case Chis’s XRP will be unsellable by law.” It looks the other way so far, though. And the market seems to be supporting this turn of events.
2.- Sam Bankman-Fried
Did you know that FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried was in talks with Binance’s CZ to fund an exchange together before any of the two made it big? True story. Well, Bankman-Fried is the “founder of Alameda Research and the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.”
Alameda Research made more money than god in an arbitrage trade. They figured out there was a premium hidden in Bitcoin’s prices in Japan. They bought in the U.S., sold in Japan, and made history. And a fortune. After that, “The FTX derivatives exchange is Sam’s second endevour, and it’s become one of the most popular crypto exchanges since it was founded in 2019.”
A key part of the crypto industry, through FTX he’s helped launch very successful crypto projects. Plus, they have their own coin that has appreciated over time. Coin Bureau says, “Sam’s exact cryptocurrency holdings are not known, I estimate them to total anywhere between 5 and 10 billion dollars.”
BNB price chart on FTX | Source: BNB/USDT on TradingView.com
1.- Changpeng Zhao
Even though CZ’s net worth is “listed at around 2 billion dollars,” Coin Bureau investigated and made some controversial assumptions. First of all, after attending a crypto conference, “CZ subsequently decided to sell his apartment in Shanghai and go all-in on Bitcoin. If my calculations are correct this banked him anywhere between 50 to 100 thousand BTC.”
The Bureau uncovered some articles in which CZ said that he likes to hold his fortune in crypto-assets, so they assume that he’s still holding to that. Years later, when Binance launched their own coin, 40% of BNBs initial minting of 100 million was allocated to the founding team. Again, the Bureau assumes he still has them, “CZ’s BNB holdings alone could easy be over 10 Billion Dollars at today’s prices.”
Related Reading | Changpeng Zhao Makes Super Bullish Case for Binance Coin
And that’s it, that’s their list. Do you think they forgot anyone in the crypto industry? Aren’t there even bigger whales in China? Are all of these people small potatoes compared to Satoshi Nakamoto himself? Let’s just take the list as a starting point and build on it.
Featured Image by Jp Valery on Unsplash - Charts by TradingView
Firm Owned by India’s Richest Man Turns to Blockchain for Trade Finance
Reliance Industries owned by India’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani has used blockchain to conduct its first trade finance transaction.
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Heads of Bitmain, Binance and Other Crypto-Related Businessmen Among Chinas Richest
n The heads of Bitmain, Binance and other crypto-related businesses have finally joined Chinas Hurun rich listn
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Ethereum Co-Creator Says He’s Not a Billionaire, Who are the Richest in Crypto
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), was accused of leading a scam involving Ethereum. The scam supposedly involved pre-mining that allowed him and Joe Lubin to steal 75% of ETH supply and turn them into billionaires. These accusations came from a New York University professor Nouriel Roubini.
@VitalikButerin was the ring-leader – together with Joe Lubin – of the criminal pre-mining sale/scam that created Ether. They stole 75% of the Ether supply and became instant "billionaires" of fake wealth. https://t.co/d3ltYuce4u
— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) October 10, 2018
While Lubin has yet to respond to this tweet, Buterin responded on the same day, October 10. In his response, Buterin, who is among the most influential people in the crypto world, still claimed that he is not a crypto billionaire. To prove it, he even provided a link to his largest digital wallet, which holds only around 365,003 ETH.
I never personally held more than ~0.9% of all ETH, and my net worth never came close to b. Also, I'm pretty sure there are no criminal laws against pre-mining.
— Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) October 10, 2018
This amount is equal to around million. Additionally, this amount also includes gifts, as well as charity donations. While Buterin also admitted to having other wallets, he claims that they are quite small.
Who Are the Richest Crypto Holders?
Obviously, the Tweet accusing Buterin of stealing digital coins to become a billionaire seems absurd at this point. However, it made a lot of people interested in the idea of a crypto billionaire.
According to recent reports, a lot of individuals that became billionaires came from China. Most of the crypto billionaires in China are leading some of the biggest digital currency startups in the world. A China-based organization called Hurun, which is tracking high net-worth individuals released a list of wealthiest executives in this country.
According to the list, which contains 13 executives, half of them are invested in the crypto mining industry. Co-founder and chairman of Bitmain, Zhan Ketuan, is even among the top 100 richest people in China. The report claims that his net worth is at .25 billion (29.5 billion Yuan). After him, there is another Bitmain co-founder, Wu Jihan, who owns .38 billion (16.5 billion Yuan).
Then, there are founders of several cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance’s Zhao Changpeng (.1 billion), Huobi’s Li Lin (.4 billion), and OKCoin’s Star Xu ( billion).
While all of these people are incredibly wealthy, they are still far below the top of the list, which is held by Alibaba’s Jack Ma, with an estimated worth of 270 billion Yuan, or billion.
According to a recent list of 400 Richest Americans in 2018, published by Forbes, there are some pretty wealthy cryptocurrency holders in the US as well. While the list is dominated by the names such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and alike, one crypto holder managed to find his way onto the list as well.
Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, managed to get a 383rd spot on the Forbes’ list. Despite the fact that he is near the end of the list, this is still a massive achievement. According to Forbes, Larsen’s net worth is estimated to be at around billion. He is the first person on this list to get so wealthy solely through cryptocurrencies. Larson managed to achieve this thanks to a 2017 price surge, that has brought the price of Ripple to new heights.
The post Ethereum Co-Creator Says He’s Not a Billionaire, Who are the Richest in Crypto appeared first on NewsBTC.
Top Ten Richest Folk in Cryptocurrency
Forbes just love to remind their readers just how much poorer they are than the subjects of their articles. It was therefore only a matter of time before they released a cryptocurrency version of their rich list. The names featured are hardly surprising. Those closely allied to the likes of Ethereum and Ripple have done well for themselves, as have the earliest investors in the space. Let’s take a look at the top ten.
10. Mike Novogratz, CEO Galaxy Digital
You probably know Mike Novogratz from our reportage of his seemingly endless bullish comments about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The former billionaire left his Fortress Investment Group in 2015 to focus on cryptocurrency. He’s since built up an estimated crypto net worth of 0 million to billion dollars. Talk about the comeback kid!
9. Brock Pierce, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, Advisor at Block.One
Brock was one of the first big pioneers of digital currency. He’s been responsible for funding dozens of startups in the space. These have included Mastercoin, Coinbase, and Ethereum. The former child actor now claims that he’s willing to donate billion to a decentralised autonomous community run on the blockchain. His savvy invesetment strategy has helped the 37 year old amass an estimated crypto net worth of 0 million to billion.
8. Anthony Di Iorio, Cofounded Ethereum, Founded Jaxx and Decentral
This 43 year old investor has manager is currently worth an estimated 0 million to billion in crypto assets alone. He was influential in the founding of the Ethereum blockchain platform that supports the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether. Di Iorio’s investment strategy is simple: Look for promising new ideas and jump ship with the gains after a period of parabolic growth. Easy, huh?
7. Matthew Roszak, Cofounder of Bloq, Founder of Tally Capital
Roszak attributes his success in the cryptocurrency space to timing. Namely, he was in very early. The 45 year old investor learned about Bitcoin in 2011 and was savvy enough to get involved in the first wave of Initial Coin Offerings. It’s even reported that he gave Richard Branson and Bill Clinton their first Bitcoins. Roszak is estimated to be worth 0 million to billion in crypto wealth alone.
6. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase
Shock horror. The CEO of Coinbase made the list of the richest folk involved in cryptocurrency. Whilst many of his peers were busy buying up a new asset class, Armstrong was selling them means to prospect with. Coinbase are one of the most well-known companies in the entire space and the first entry point into cryptocurrency for many. Today it’s estimated his digital currency net worth is between 0 million and billion.
5. Matthew Mellon, Investor
With an estimated cryptocurrency net worth of 0 million to billion, Mellon certainly has played his cards right. The 54 year old investor saw an opportunity early in Ripple and bought up their token, XRP, despite warnings from friends and family. It’s clearly paid off for him.
4. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Cofounders Winklevoss Capital
Yeah, they might be two people but be honest, have you ever seen a news story with one and not the other? Together, the Winklevoss Twins’ combined cryptocurrency net worth is estimated at between 0 million and .1 billion. The pair invested early in Bitcoin and simply held it. Since then, they’ve set up the New York-based exchange, Gemini. In a space rife with scandal and security breaches, Gemini is something of a trusted entity in cryptocurrency, so much so that the Chicago Board Options Exchange use their price index to settle their recently launched futures contracts.
3. Changpeng Zhao, CEO Binance
Binance came out of nowhere less than seven months ago and under Zhao’s leadership have grown into the largest cryptocurrency exchange on the planet. Zhao, known more colloquially as “CZ”, has dodged regulatory pressures by moving his companies to three different territories in its short existence. CZ has an impressive estimated crypto net worth of .1 to billion.
2. Joseph Lubin, Cofounder of Ethereum, Founder of ConsenSys
This former Goldman Sachs executive helped fund the blockchain platform Ethereum, as well as founding ConsenSys. The latter today employs over 600 people and spans an impressive 28 countries. ConsenSys have helped launch many companies and their tokens. They’re also used for consulting services for global giants such as Microsoft. Lubin is estimated to be worth in the range of to billion.
1. Chris Larsen, Cofounder of Ripple
Sitting atop the cryptocurrency rich list is non other than the cofounder of Ripple, Chris Larsen. This is largely due to the dubious initial distribution of XRP. Larsen himself owns 5.2 billion XRP. Despite (or perhaps because of) the wider cryptocurrency community’s general condemnation of Ripple, they’ve found their niche facilitating international payments for banks. It’s estimated that Larsen’s crypto assets are worth between .5 and billion.
Image: PixaBay
The post Top Ten Richest Folk in Cryptocurrency appeared first on NewsBTC.