Bitcoin’s historic surge to $100,000 in 2024 marks a major milestone that will propel the entire cryptocurrency market to new heights. This incident not only solidified cryptocurrency’s status as a digital asset; Significantly increasing overall wealth in the crypto industry, which is known for creating some of the richest people in the world.
The study takes an in-depth look at the fortunes of these cryptocurrency billionaires and examines how their net worth has changed amid Bitcoin’s surge. We specifically analyze the top crypto billionaires’ net worth, sources of wealth, and their country. Additionally, the study highlights the rapid growth in the number of cryptocurrency millionaires and billionaires.
How many crypto billionaires are there in the world?
according to Henley & Partners’ Cryptocurrency Wealth Reportthe world has witnessed a significant increase in cryptocurrency wealth. The number of cryptocurrency billionaires has increased by 27% over the past year, bringing the total to 28.
The number of cryptocurrency millionaires has grown significantly, with a 95% increase in 2024. With the price of Bitcoin exceeding $100,000, owning less than 10 Bitcoins is now enough to make someone a cryptocurrency millionaire.
Which country has the most crypto billionaires?
U.S. Leads in Cryptocurrency Wealth Two-thirds of crypto billionaires are out there. This dominance reflects the country’s strong influence in the crypto industry, including major exchanges, blockchain innovation, and investments.
Notable American cryptocurrency billionaires include Brian Armstrong, Michael Thaler, Chris Larson, and the Winklevoss twins Tyler and Cameron.
Countries like Italy and Canada have also made significant contributions to the list of billionaires, and the numbers are as follows Giancarlo Devasini, Paolo Ardoino and Stewart Hogner.
Here is a list of famous cryptocurrency billionaires and their countries:
| Name | Country/Region |
| Changpeng Zhao | Canada |
| Brian Armstrong | USA |
| Michael Seiler | USA |
| Giancarlo Devasini | Italy |
| Chris Larson | USA |
| Fred Essam | USA |
| Jean-Louis van de Velde | Netherlands |
| Paul Aldo Ino | Italy |
| Jed McCaleb | USA |
| Tyler Winklevoss | USA |
| Cameron Winklevoss | USA |
| Michael Novogratz | USA |
| Stewart Hegner | Canada |
| Tim Draper | USA |
| Matthew Rozak | USA |
How Much Will Cryptocurrency Billionaires Gain as Bitcoin Surges?
Bitcoin’s surge in 2024 has significantly increased the wealth of the world’s top crypto billionaires. Between March 2024 and December 2024, their net worth grew by a total of $50.8 billion, an increase of 79.25%.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao’s U.S. dollar wealth increased the most. His net worth increased by $34.8 billion, or 105.45%, from $33 billion in March to $67.8 billion in December.
Compared with March 2024, the net assets of the three investors with the largest increases have more than doubled.
Meanwhile, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen saw the highest increase. His net worth jumped from $3.2 billion to $8.3 billion in nine months, an impressive increase of 159.38%.
Here are the details on cryptocurrency billionaires:
| Name | source of wealth | Change |
| Changpeng Zhao | Binance | $34.8 B (105.45%) |
| Michael Seiler | MicroStrategy, Bitcoin | $6.3B(143.18%) |
| Chris Larson | Ripple, Ripple | $5.1B(159.38%) |
| Brian Armstrong | Coin library | $3.7B(33.04%) |
| Fred Essam | Coin library | $0.9 B (29.03%) |
| total | $50.8 B (79.25%) | |
Who is the richest crypto billionaire right now?
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is the richest cryptocurrency billionaire, with a net worth of $67.8 billion. His wealth is more than 3.5 times that of the second-richest cryptocurrency billionaire, Brian Armstrong, who has a net worth of $14.9 billion.
Zhao is also the world’s second youngest billionaire, behind Mark Zuckerberg, with a net worth of over $60 billion.
Other notable figures include MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor (net worth $10.7 billion) and Tether’s Giancarlo Devasini (net worth $9.2 billion). Ripple’s Chris Larsen also ranks high, with a net worth of $8.3 billion.
Here are the details of the top cryptocurrency billionaires at the time of writing:
| Name | source of wealth | net worth |
| Changpeng Zhao | Binance | $67.8 B |
| Brian Armstrong | Coin library | $14.9 B |
| Michael Seiler | MicroStrategy, Bitcoin | $10.7 B |
| Giancarlo Devasini | tether | $9.2 B |
| Chris Larson | Ripple, Ripple | $8.3 B |
| Fred Essam | Coin library | $4 B |
| Jean-Louis van de Velde | tether | $3.9 B |
| Paul Aldo Ino | tether | $3.9 B |
| Jed McCaleb | star | $2.9 B |
Tether plays a major role in the world of cryptocurrency billionaires, accounting for One-third of the list. However, billionaires associated with Tether, e.g. Giancarlo Devasini, Jean-Louis van de Velde and Paolo Ardoinowealth will not increase significantly in 2024, and the performance will be relatively stable.
Our methodology
Our data collection focuses on identifying billionaires whose primary source of wealth comes from cryptocurrencies. We relied on the Forbes tracking database to gather detailed information about their net worth. The method involves comparing and calculating immediate data (as of December 5, 2024) with previous data Recorded data (Effective March 8, 2024). Some billionaires are not included in our reports because their data is incomplete.
