Let’s face it: cryptocurrency is famous not just because of its innovation and upending of the traditional financial system, but also because it is a way to make money. In the 2010s, the headlines were full of stories of people who became millionaires from their bedrooms by investing in Bitcoin.

Even now, we are endlessly fascinated by people who can work the crypto market and make a serious profit while doing so. This is likely why there are so many new entrants into the crypto market. Realising just how profitable it is can have many of us looking into how to create a Solana Wallet or the best way to mine Bitcoin. Solana wallets are self-custodial, which gives investors direct access to their savings. This flexibility can help new investors on their way to becoming the next crypto millionaire.

But who are the biggest crypto investors on the planet? Here are some of the people who’ve profited the most from the sector.

Fred Ehrsam

Even if you haven’t heard this name, you’ve likely heard of Coinbase, the giant crypto exchange that he co-founded with Brian Armstrong in 2012. Over a decade since its inception, Coinbase remains one of the most powerful companies in the crypto space and brought in $6.5 billion in revenue in 2024 alone. While Ehrsam exited the company in 2017, he’s still on the board and owns about 5% of Coinbase’s stock. Needless to say, this has contributed to his $3.2 billion fortune.

Proving that he’s not a one-trick pony, he also founded Paradigm, a crypto investment firm. So far, the company has managed billions of dollars in assets, and we can expect its net worth to only rise moving forward.

Chris Larsen

Crypto lovers are likely familiar with Ripple Labs, a company Chris Larsen co-founded back in the 2010s. Though he exited his position in the company in 2016, he still owns roughly 20% of it. Given the fact that Ripple Labs is valued at several billion dollars, his net worth of $7.7 billion is hardly surprising. It is also worth noting that he owns billions of XRP tokens, which are also worth billions of dollars in the open market. And given the rumors of XRP getting a spot ETF sometime this year or next, this net worth is only going to increase over time.

Jean-Louis van der Velde

How do you secure a net worth of $9.5 billion? If you’re Jean-Louis Van Der Velde, you do so by co-founding not just one but two iconic companies in the crypto space. The Dutch businessman helped co-found and was the CEO of Tether, the biggest stablecoin company in the crypto space. If that wasn’t enough, he also founded Bitfinex, a massive crypto exchange that does billions of dollars in transactions every single day. The ownership he retains in both companies, as well as his private crypto Investments, means that he’s one of the richest people in cryptocurrency and in the world at large. Given the current plans to expand stablecoin use within the United States, the value of Tether, and thus Van Vae Velde’s portfolio, is only going to skyrocket.

Michael Saylor

Few crypto entrepreneurs have a resumé quite as impressive as Michael Saylor’s. First, he was the CEO of MicroStrategy, a business intelligence, mobile software services company from 1998 till 2022. These days, he serves as a co-CEO of Kraken, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world. Both his stock in these companies as well as his personal crypto Investments (rumoured to be tens of thousands of bitcoin tokens) have seen his net worth balloon to $9.4 billion, with no end in sight. After decades in the tech space, he remains a relevant voice in the emerging digital asset sector, and we clearly haven’t seen the last of him.

Giancarlo Devasini

Further proving that Tether and Bitfinex are a winning combination, another entry on this list is Giancarlo Devasini, who not only co-founded Tether but also works as CFO at Bitfinex alongside Velde. He is rumoured to hold a 47% stake in Tether, which has led to an impressive net worth of over $22 billion. As one of the most used stablecoins in the world, Tether has proved to be an enduring crypto project, and its founders have seen their pockets swell thanks to this. Then there is his position as CFO at Bitfinex, which is another important project in the crypto scene, as one of the biggest exchanges on the planet.

Brian Armstrong

Bryan Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam and owns roughly 18% of the company. As we said with his co-founder, the billions of dollars the company brings in each year have given Brian a healthy net worth of $10.4 billion. And given the public favor that cryptocurrency has seen with the government and the general public in the last few years, Coinbase is only going to go from strength to strength.

Justin Sun

Justin Sun is the founder of Tron, a top crypto project and token which has remained at the forefront of the ecosystem’s development for years at this point. He was also a founder of BitTorrent, an iconic peer-to-peer file-sharing service. His endeavours within and outside of the crypto world have netted him a net worth of over $10 billion. And as Tron continues to wax stronger, this net worth will only increase.

Changpeng Zhao

Even if you’re not overly familiar with the crypto space, you’ve likely heard of the industry giant that is Binance. The biggest crypto exchange in the world, Binance, was co-founded by Changpeng Zhao, who served as its CEO until a few years ago. Zhao holds a 90% stake in Binance, which has seen his net worth explode to a staggering $66 billion. Donald Trump’s victory last year propelled his net worth even higher, and experts believe that in the next few years, he could become a centi-billionaire.

Conclusion

The crypto industry has financially benefited millions across the globe, but few come close to the sheer amount of wealth accumulated by these people. Whether it was by founding a massive token or heading important companies, these are some of the most successful crypto investors ever.