The year 2022 has been a tumultuous and eventful one for the crypto world, with multiple high-profile bankruptcies, record-high scams, and frauds.
According to sources, 17 of crypto currency’s wealthiest founders, investors, and advocates have lost a total of $116 billion in personal wealth since March 2022. While 15 of these crypto billionaires lost more than half of their fortune, ten lost their billionaire status, and three lost their entire fortune.
- Changpeng Zhao
Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the wealthiest crypto personality, experienced the greatest drop in personal wealth over the last nine months. CZ’s net worth fell 93.07% from $65 billion in March to $4.5 billion in December.
- Samuel Bankman-Fried
SBF, the second richest crypto mogul in March with a net worth of $24 billion, is thought to have lost his entire fortune. SBF is currently being held in house arrest while awaiting trial on multiple counts of fraud.
- Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, saw his net worth drop 75% from $6 billion in March to $1.5 billion in December.
- Gary Wang
Gary Wang, the co-founder and former chief technology officer (CTO) of FTX, has seen his entire net worth of $5.9 billion wiped out since March, just like SBF.
- Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen, the fifth-richest cryptocurrency personality, lost 51% of his personal wealth. Larsen’s net worth dropped from $4.3 billion in March to $1.2 billion in December.
6 & 7. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who each had a net worth of $4 billion in March, have seen their fortunes plummet by 72.5% over the last three quarters.
Gemini, which is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), marketed itself as a safe and regulated exchange in comparison to unregulated offshore counterparts.
- Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is the CEO of Genesis’ parent company, the crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG). According to Forbes, Silbert’s net worth has dropped to zero from $3.2 billion in March.
- Jed McCaleb
Among the 17 listed crypto moguls, Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb kept the majority of his personal wealth. This is because, in accordance with his separation agreement with Ripple, McCaleb sold almost all of his XRP holdings, worth approximately $2.5 billion, between December 2020 and July 2022.
10 & 11. Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau
Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau, co-founders of Web 3.0 development platform, have both lost their billionaire status since March. According to Forbes, the current value of Viswanathan and Lau’s personal wealth is $600 million each, down from $2.4 billion each in March.
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