The year 2022 was one of losses for cryptocurrencies and for entrepreneurs in the sector. In a year of much turmoil, with collapses, crises, bankruptcies, major devaluations, scams and even arrests, 17 of the richest investors and founders of crypto lost, together, around US$ 116 billion (R$ 601 billion) in personal wealth since March, according to Forbes estimates. Furthermore, 15 of them lost more than half of their wealth in the last nine months. Another ten lost their billionaire status altogether, according to Forbes.
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Changpeng Zhao – Binance
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the billionaire CEO of Binance, for example, lost 93% of his net worth. According to Forbes estimates, CZ had – nine months ago – $65 million in net worth and is now worth about $4.5 billion. For these calculations, Forbes takes into account that CZ has an estimated 70% stake in Binance. While still the richest in the industry, CZ has a lot to lose, according to Forbes. That’s because Binance, the exchange under his leadership, is the target of investigations by authorities in Europe and the United States over allegations of facilitating money laundering and other financial crimes. Binance denies wrongdoing. “We are a unique organization, we don’t have loans from any other organization,” said CZ. “We are going to prove that all the FUD [medo, incerteza e dúvida] it’s wrong.”
Sam Bankman-Fried – FTX and Alameda Research
Binance’s CEO was also somehow involved with the collapse of FTX – Binance’s rival exchange – in November. Before FTX filed for bankruptcy, CZ tweeted that Binance would sell its entire stake in FTX’s FTT token. This and other evidence of a crisis with the exchange caused a run on withdrawals and resulted in the exchange collapsing. The “bankruptcy” of the platform caused its founder, former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, to lose his entire fortune. According to Forbes, SBF’s net worth dropped from $24 billion in March to zero. The executive became the second richest person in cryptocurrencies. But now, he faces multiple fraud allegations and is bankrupt.
Barry Silbert – Digital Currency Group
Also losing his entire fortune was Barry Silbert, head of cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG). Silbert’s net worth dropped from $3.2 billion to zero, according to Forbes. One of DCG’s main assets, crypto lending unit Genesis Global Capital, owes creditors at least $1.8 billion, according to Reuters sources. “Forbes estimates the current value of Silbert’s 40% stake in DCG to be approximately $0. Silbert’s personal investments could not be determined,” the news outlet said.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – Gemini
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the Gemini billionaires also lost a good part of their fortune in this “crypto winter”. According to Forbes, the brothers’ net worth has dropped more than 72%, from $4 billion in March to $1.1 billion now.
Brian Armstrong – Coinbase
Brian Armstrong, CEO of the Coinbase platform, also saw his equity slip away. Forbes estimates that Armstrong has lost 75% of his net worth, which was $6 billion in March and is now $1.5 billion. Coinbase shares are down 64% since August and more than 95% since its $100 billion IPO in April 2021, wiping out much of Armstrong’s fortune.
Ripple Executives
On the other hand, Jed McCaleb, co-founder of the crypto company Ripple, managed to retain a good part of his fortune. In March, he had assets of US$ 2.5 billion and today this value is US$ 2.4 billion. But who failed to do the same was Chris Larsen, the other founder and chairman of the board of Ripple. He has lost over $2 billion this year, due to the drop in the price of XRP. His net worth dropped from $4.3 billion to $2.1 billion.
10 lose billionaire status
Finally, those who lost their billionaire status were: SBF and Gary Wang of FTX; DCG’s Barry Silbert; Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau of Alchemy; Devid Finzer and Alex Atallah of OpenSea; Fred Ehrsam of Coinbase; and Michael Saylor and Tim Draper of their Bitcoin fortunes.
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