Sam Bankman-Fried
The biggest loser in terms of dollars is Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto trading firm Alameda Research. One of the youngest self-made billionaires on Forbes’ list, Bankman-Fried’s net worth soared after launching FTX, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, in 2019.
Most of Bankman-Fried’s wealth comes from his stake in FTX. At one point, his net worth hit $16.7 billion during Bitcoin’s peak on May 10. However, FTX’s value dropped 37%, shrinking his fortune to $11.5 billion by May 19.
The Winklevoss Twins
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the famous twins known for their legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook’s founding, each saw their net worth drop by $900 million over nine days, a 24% decline to about $2.9 billion each.
Since 2012, the twins have invested their $65 million Facebook settlement into Bitcoin and launched the Gemini crypto exchange in 2014. Gemini now handles $200 million in daily trading volume.
Michael Saylor
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, has the largest percentage loss. Once a dot-com billionaire, he became a major Bitcoin investor. In October 2020, he bought 17,732 Bitcoin for $175 million. Throughout 2020, MicroStrategy purchased 70,784 Bitcoin for $1.1 billion. At Bitcoin’s peak, Saylor’s net worth was $3.3 billion but dropped 45% to $1.8 billion in just nine days.
Vitalik Buterin
The crypto market crash also wiped out the billionaire status of Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum. He became a billionaire on May 3 when Ether hit nearly $3,300. His net worth peaked around $1.4 billion as Ether climbed above $4,300 on May 12.
But after the recent market downturn, Forbes estimates Buterin’s net worth has fallen to about $850 million.
Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, one of the largest and most popular Bitcoin exchanges, saw his net worth drop after the company’s IPO. Most of his wealth comes from Coinbase stock. The exchange was valued at $85 billion on Nasdaq on April 14. By May 10, Armstrong’s net worth was about $9.8 billion but fell 15% to $8.3 billion after Bitcoin’s crash on May 19.
Fred Ehrsam
Like Armstrong, Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, holds most of his wealth in Coinbase stock. He became a billionaire after Coinbase’s successful listing. On May 10, Ehrsam’s net worth was about $3.4 billion but dropped 27% to $2.9 billion by May 19.
Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple (XRP), the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, owns the largest amount of XRP. Forbes ranks him among the richest crypto billionaires. As of May 10, Larsen’s net worth was about $6.9 billion but fell 19% to $5.6 billion by May 19.
Jed McCaleb
Alongside Larsen, Jed McCaleb co-founded Ripple and owns a large amount of XRP. On May 10, his net worth was about $6 billion but dropped $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion by May 19 as XRP’s price fell.
Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is one of the five founders of Digital Currency Group. Its largest subsidiary, Grayscale, manages digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum worth up to $28 billion.
Silbert’s wealth mainly comes from his stake in Grayscale. By May 19, his net worth dropped about 14% to $1.8 billion.
Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, is a well-known figure in the blockchain and crypto community. He is CEO of Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. In 2014, he sold his house to invest in Bitcoin. In 2017, he founded Binance, which became popular within a year.
According to Forbes, CZ’s net worth is about $1.9 billion, mostly from Binance. Interestingly, unlike the other billionaires, CZ’s wealth showed almost no loss between May 10 and May 19.
Source: Forbes
