On Tuesday (December 26), although Binance founder Changpeng Zhao may go to jail next year after pleading guilty to U.S. criminal charges in November, 2023 is going to be a good year for him. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhao Changpeng's wealth has increased by an estimated $25 billion this year.

Bitcoin rebounded more than 160% in 2023 after the 2022 market crash, with Zhao Changpeng topping the list of crypto entrepreneurs with the highest estimated net worth surge in 2023. Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong and twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss also recovered billions of dollars in wealth.

Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke University who studies digital asset markets, said: “Investing in cryptocurrencies is not for the faint of heart, and you need to be prepared for huge ups and downs. These investors became billionaires for a reason, and it wasn’t luck. They didn’t sell their holdings during a market downturn. They believed in the long-term opportunities this space offers.”

Zhao Changpeng’s wealth, now estimated at more than $37 billion, comes largely from his controlling stake in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which he founded.

Although Binance has lost some market share this year, the exchange has benefited from increased trading volume as the cryptocurrency market rebounded. He also owns some Bitcoin and Binance's own token, BNB, although these assets are not included in the billionaire index.

Last November, he and Binance pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions violations under a comprehensive settlement agreement with the United States that allowed the cryptocurrency exchange to continue operating. Zhao Changpeng also agreed to pay a $50 million fine under the agreement, which required him to resign as CEO but retain his ownership stake in the exchange.

Sentencing in February

Zhao faces up to 10 years in prison, but is expected to serve no more than 18 months under a plea agreement that appears to have helped him avoid the harsh penalties faced by some other high-profile cryptocurrency criminals. The Justice Department has not yet said how long they will seek in prison. In late November, a federal judge in Seattle ruled that Zhao Changpeng cannot return to his home in the United Arab Emirates for now. Zhao's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhao Changpeng's wealth is still far from its peak of nearly $97 billion in early 2022, and is even lower than the annual high of $50.4 billion he reached in July.

Zhao Changpeng is not the only billionaire who benefits from the 2023 cryptocurrency rebound. The Binance settlement agreement has eliminated uncertainty in the market, and optimism that the United States will eventually approve exchange-traded funds for investment has partly driven Bitcoin's rebound.

Here are some other big cryptocurrency winners for 2023:

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global, has seen his wealth rise by $5.8 billion this year to $7.2 billion. Coinbase’s stock price has risen nearly 400% so far this year, and Armstrong is estimated to own about 16% of the company.

Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam's estimated wealth increased by $1.8 billion in 2023, totaling about $2.5 billion. He is estimated to own about 5% of Coinbase. The SEC sued Coinbase in June, accusing it of operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing house. Coinbase is defending the case in court.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of the Gemini Trust crypto exchange, have amassed millions of dollars in Bitcoin, increasing their respective wealth by $1.4 billion this year to $2.7 billion. Gemini has been locked in a months-long dispute with crypto lending firm Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group over a joint crypto lending scheme. The SEC claims that the so-called Earn scheme constitutes an unregistered securities offering. The Winklevoss brothers described the lawsuit as a "manufactured parking ticket."

Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert’s wealth has increased by $1.5 billion this year to an estimated $2 billion. DCG has been selling or shutting down businesses over the past year after subsidiary Genesis filed for bankruptcy last January. Silbert declined to comment for this story.

On the other hand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX crypto exchange, who was imprisoned for his involvement in massive fraud, currently has an estimated net worth of zero, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which peaked at $25.9 billion in March last year.