Newspaper (Hong Kong) News: The cold winter of cryptocurrency is gradually receding. Bitcoin once broke through the $30,000 mark this week, stimulating crypto investors to return to an optimistic momentum. In 2023, many crypto whales around the world continue to retain a large amount of crypto wealth. Musk has become the richest crypto tycoon with an estimated net worth of $2,320. Satoshi Nakamoto, known as the "Father of Bitcoin", is closely following, and with long-term persistence, the crypto empires of the two Chinese tycoons are gradually rising.
In April this year, Musk's net worth was estimated at $232 billion. Musk's wealth can be attributed to his leadership and involvement in several well-known companies, mainly Tesla and SpaceX, as well as ventures such as Neuralink and OpenAI. Musk has confirmed that he personally owns Bitcoin, but the specific amount of Bitcoin he privately holds has not been publicly disclosed. His Tesla holds Bitcoin with a net worth of $184 million.
SpaceX recorded $373 million worth of Bitcoin holdings on its balance sheet for 2021 and 2022, and there are signs that some of the cryptocurrency was sold in 2023, but the full extent of the sell-off remains unverified.
As of September 2023, Satoshi Nakamoto's net worth is estimated to be between $30 and $70 billion, largely due to the creation of Bitcoin, a revolutionary cryptocurrency that laid the foundation for the entire blockchain and digital currency ecosystem. Despite the huge impact of Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto's innovative contributions, his true identity and holdings remain a mystery, adding to the intrigue and speculation surrounding this legendary figure in the cryptocurrency world.
Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, is also a key figure in the world of cryptocurrency, with an estimated net worth of around $2.9 billion by 2023, with his wealth tied to a large stake in Ripple. Throughout Larsen's career, he has played a key role in the development of Ripple's XRP token. In the past, Forbes estimated his net worth at $59 billion in 2018, making him one of the richest individuals in the world.
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor is an American billionaire with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion as of September 2023. He has gained a lot of attention in the cryptocurrency world as the first executive of a US public company to add Bitcoin to the company's balance sheet. Under Saylor's leadership, MicroStrategy holds a large amount of Bitcoin.
Saylor's journey has been remarkable, taking MicroStrategy public in 1998 and achieving great success during the dot-com bubble. He later made headlines for buying large amounts of Bitcoin, becoming a well-known Bitcoin maximalist and predicting that the cryptocurrency will see a significant increase in price in the future. Currently, MicroStrategy holds 158,245 Bitcoins.
Asian billionaires are not far behind. Song Chi-hyung, founder of cryptocurrency trading company Dunamu and South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, has an estimated net worth of about $950 million as of 2023. His wealth is largely attributed to the success of his two companies. Song Chi-hyung is well-known for his contribution to the Korean technology industry. He is considered an inspiration for young entrepreneurs and has been actively involved in mentoring Korean technology startups and supporting the development of the technology ecosystem.
The rise of two Chinese tycoons: Changpeng Zhao and Zhan Ketuan
Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is undoubtedly a well-known figure in the mainstream cryptocurrency space. His huge wealth is closely related to his role as the leader of the world's largest crypto exchange. Although CZ's wealth mainly comes from his efforts in the crypto market, like many other cryptocurrency leaders, the exact amount of cryptocurrencies held in CZ's personal portfolio is usually not disclosed publicly.
According to asset estimates compiled by CCN, Zhao Changpeng's total assets are expected to be US$10.2 billion, catching up with Musk and Satoshi Nakamoto.
With an estimated net worth of approximately $2.7 billion as of 2023, Chinese mogul Micree Zhan is a well-known Chinese entrepreneur and investor who is the co-founder of cryptocurrency mining hardware producer Bitmain. His net worth has fluctuated in the past, with previous reports suggesting much higher numbers.
However, according to news from multiple cryptocurrency media organizations, Bitmain has temporarily stopped paying salaries and all employee bonuses since September, and is considering cutting basic salaries by 50%. In addition, according to CoinTelegraph, the company's initial public offering (IPO) plans have been shelved. In any case, the latest research data in June this year shows that Bitmain's Antminer is still the mainstream device in the mining power market, followed by mining machines developed by MicroBit, Canaan Creative and Ebang International.
After the failed IPO in 2018 and the "separation" drama in 2019 in which the two founders, Jihan Wu and Zhan Ketuan, competed for the dominance of the company, Bitmain, led by Zhan Ketuan, seems to be forcing its internal management to cope with market competition with more stringent management methods, attempting to maintain its position as the "king of mining machines" in the upcoming latest cycle of Bitcoin block reward halving in 2024.
BTC.com, Bitdeer and overseas mining farms were split off at a valuation of $90 million and belonged to Wu Jihan's team. Other businesses of Bitmain, including mining machines, artificial intelligence (AI), Ant Mining Pool, and Chinese mining farms, belonged to Zhan Ketuan. However, in May 2021, China's regulatory authorities issued a policy to completely clear the Bitcoin mining and trading market out of the country, and the Bitmain products under Zhan Ketuan had to leave.
In April this year, BitDeer, which was spun off from Bitmain and headed by Wu Jihan, was successfully listed on the Nasdaq in the United States.
Although the challenges of the 2022 bear market have not yet completely receded, many influential figures in the cryptocurrency industry have still managed to retain their huge wealth this year and continue to occupy a prominent position on the cryptocurrency rich list. The billionaires' wealth mainly comes from their involvement in various cryptocurrency-related businesses, exchanges, and large holdings of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, it is important to acknowledge that fluctuations in the net worth of cryptocurrency billionaires are common due to market fluctuations, legal issues, and investment decisions.
