The world of cryptocurrency has seen a massive surge in value, with the price of bitcoin reaching over $90,000 for the first time and the total market value of all digital assets surpassing $3.2 trillion. This surge has led to significant gains for the top crypto billionaires, with Forbes estimating that 11 of them have collectively added $38 billion to their fortunes in 2024. The majority of this increase, about $24 billion, occurred after September 1, fueled by optimism in the industry over Donald Trump’s potential victory in the upcoming presidential election on November 5.
Among the top gainers in percentage terms are leaders of publicly traded companies whose stocks are closely tied to the performance of bitcoin. MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor saw a massive 464% increase in his company’s stock price, with his net worth jumping by 291% to $8.8 billion. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz also experienced a significant gain, with his net worth rising by 123% to $5.9 billion. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s net worth surged by 80%, reaching $13.8 billion, making him the second-richest person in the crypto industry.
However, the biggest gainer in terms of overall dollars is Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, whose net worth jumped from $47.3 billion to $63.1 billion. Despite only seeing a 33% gain in percentage terms, Zhao’s wealth comes primarily from his stake in Binance and his stockpile of 94 million BNB tokens. Ripple co-founders Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb, on the other hand, did not see any appreciation in their net worth in 2024. Larsen’s net worth remained flat at around $3.3 billion, while McCaleb, who owns 1 billion tokens from the Stellar network, stayed at $2.9 billion.
XRP tokens, which make up half of Larsen’s net worth, and XLM tokens, owned by McCaleb, have seen limited growth this year. XRP is up less than 1% in 2024, while XLM has actually fallen by 11%. Both tokens were identified by Forbes in March as billion-dollar crypto zombies, with high market capitalizations but little utility beyond trading and speculation. Despite the lack of growth in their net worth, Larsen and McCaleb continue to hold significant stakes in these tokens and remain key figures in the crypto industry.
Overall, the crypto market has seen unprecedented growth in 2024, with billionaires in the industry reaping the rewards of surging prices and market value. The rise of bitcoin and other digital assets has led to substantial gains for top executives and founders, with some seeing their net worth soar by billions of dollars. As the industry continues to expand and attract more investors, the future looks bright for the crypto billionaires who have positioned themselves at the forefront of this rapidly evolving market.
