๐๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐ง-๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ค๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ง!
The crypto winter is over. Bitcoin has more than doubled over the past 12 months, hitting an all-time high of $73,000 in March after the U.S. legalized bitcoin-pegged exchange-traded funds. The total value of all outstanding cryptocurrencies increased by 170%, adding some $1.6 trillion in market value over the past 12 months, according to CoinGecko.
Thatโs helped make at least 17 people crypto billionaires, according to Forbesโ 2024 Worldโs Billionaires list, up from nine crypto billionaires last year. These 17 investors and entrepreneurs are worth a collective $93 billion, between their estimated crypto asset holdings, publicly disclosed stock holdings and private assets. Thatโs more than double the $37 billion in collective crypto billionaire wealth last year.
For the third year running, Changpeng Zhao AKA @CZ founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, is cryptoโs wealthiest person. Despite pleading guilty to U.S. money laundering charges in November, CZ, as heโs known, is now worth an estimated $33 billion, up from $10.5 billion last year. That makes him the biggest crypto gainer in dollar terms since last year and the 50th-wealthiest person in the world. The bulk of his fortune comes from his majority stake in Binance, which remains the industryโs largest global trading venue by volume.
