A Peek into the Wealth of Bitcoin Billionaires, From the Founders of Binance to Coinbase

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Bitcoin is known as one of the digital assets with the largest market capitalization, up to USD 1 trillion as of February 2024

Quoted from Investopedia, Friday (16/2/2024) Bitcoin is also widely considered to be one of the most successful digital currencies ever created. The first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched in October 2021, pushing the cryptocurrency to new all-time highs.

Many of these cryptocurrency holders also made their fortunes by creating products to develop the fledgling Bitcoin ecosystem.

For example, some have created exchanges to trade cryptocurrencies and their derivatives.

However, you also need to know that Bitcoin is still a risky asset class. This is because there are no regulatory restrictions and the volatility of cryptocurrency prices has attracted individuals and investors.

Billionaire List Real-Time version Forbes, ranked Changpeng Zhao, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance as the richest person in the cryptocurrency industry, he is estimated to have wealth of up to USD 4.5 billion or the equivalent of Rp. 70.3 trillion.

Here is a list of the 5 richest bitcoin billionaires who amassed their wealth from the industry:

Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao is the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. According to Forbes, Zhao's net worth was recorded at USD 4.5 billion as of February 2023.

Zhao, who immigrated to Canada at the age of 13 from China, discovered Bitcoin through playing poker with friends.

He used cryptocurrency afterward and even sold his apartment for Bitcoin in 2014.

Binance, which started in 2017, handles billions of dollars in transactions every day.

While it may not be as well-known as Coinbase to US customers, Binance is bigger and offers more coins and derivatives to customers than its main competitors.

But the exchange's rapid rise has had a detrimental impact on its regulation. The company came under regulatory scrutiny in several financial jurisdictions and was forced to operate without a headquarters.