#BITCOINRICH?
A look at Forbes’ crypto rich-list and at what’s missing
In early February 2018, Forbes released its first list of the richest people in digital currency, similar to its widely respected Rich List of global billionaires. According to the fabled publication’s editor, the decision was made because “Fortunes of this magnitude should never be allowed to lurk in the shadows.”
The fortunes that Forbes speaks of can perhaps be glimpsed in the total cryptocurrency market cap that almost touched $1 trillion for the first time in early January 2018. Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, tops the list with an estimated net worth between $7.5 — $8 billion on the back of his 5.2 billion XRP, and his control over the company. Ripple is also one of the very few cryptocurrencies to have gained significant corporate and institutional backing in 2017 and early 2018.
Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin, and early investor, Joseph Lubin, also made the list at second and seventeenth places respectively. The price of Ethereum increased at least a hundredfold within the past year, and today, has a market cap of >$85 billion.
Ethereum and Ripple account for a significant chunk of the crypto market, dominating most other currencies with the exclusion of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the largest, yet the lack of Bitcoin-related names is an interesting curiosity.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the individual or group who, unlike the people featured on the list, never revealed their identity should in theory be at the top of the list. In December 2017, Quartz reported that this entitiy’s worth exceeded $19 billion. According to estimated calculations Nakamoto should be in control of around 980,000 BTC.
Quartz’s $19.4 billion figure would not only put Satoshi Nakamoto at the top of the list of the richest people in cryptocurrency by a factor of more than two, but also make him the 44th richest person on the planet, at least according to yet another Forbes list. Nakamoto’s absence on the list is most likely due to his (or their) unknown identity and other missing details.
Cryptocurrency mining operations have been a lucrative source of income for plenty of people since the introduction of Bitcoin. Mining has gone from a hobby to a vast and profitable enterprise. The founder and CEO of Bitfury, Valery Vavilov, who established the company back in 2011, is the only individual on Forbes’ list with ties to mining operations.
While most personalities that appear on the list are founders of popular cryptocurrencies it is interesting to note that the heads of digital currency exchanges also made the cut.
The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, is the third richest known person in crypto, followed closely by Brian Armstrong, the CEO of US-based exchange, Coinbase. Song Chi-Hyung, the founder of South Korean exchange, Upbit, also makes an appearance, albeit at the very end of the list.
The Winklevoss Twins, famous for their landmark lawsuit against Facebook, are also known to have a significant stake in crypto. Shortly after settling the Facebook dispute for $65 million in cash and options, the twins purchased $11 million worth of bitcoin back in 2013. According to Forbes, their combined net worth today sits at around $1 billion. They are one of the most successful, if not the most successful, sole investors in the industry.
Investors such as the Winklevoss brothers tell a rather one-sided tale, however. For every person that has made millions of dollars on cryptocurrencies by holding them for years, there are newer investors that exit the market almost immediately after the price tends downward.
The unpredictability of the market may make Forbes’ list obsolete in a year, if not a few months — particularly if you consider the fluctuation of Chris Larsen’s wealth in XRP which has oscillated between lows and highs of $26M and $17BN in the past 12 months. Either way, there’s clearly more to being #Bitcoinrich than meets the eye.
Writing and Research by Rahul Nambiampurath
