Everything fell apart in the crypto industry in 2022. According to the most recent Forbes report, even the richest in the sector were significantly impacted, with the top 17 crypto billionaires losing $116 billion of their net worth.
The loss was caused by the bankruptcies of several cryptocurrency companies as well as the bear market. As a result of the massive loss, ten of the 17 crypto billionaires were removed from the list.
The most notable ex-member is FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. SBF was valued at around $24 billion at the start of the year, while FTX had just closed a $400 million funding round, valuing it at $32 billion.
However, less than a year later, FTX declared bankruptcy, while SBF is worth next to nothing. He claims to have less than $100,000 in his bank account and is unsure how he will pay his lawyers.
Meanwhile, he is not the only crypto billionaire whose fortune has plummeted to zero in the last year. Others on the list include FTX’s CTO, Gary Wang, and Digital Currency Group’s Barry Silbert (DCG).
Forbes stated that the potential insolvency of DCG contributed to the significant drop in Barry Silbert’s net worth. According to reports, DCG has a $2 billion debt and is struggling to raise the new funds required to stay afloat.
Silbert’s 40% stake in DCG, according to Forbes, is worth next to nothing unless his crypto empire survives its current situation.
Meanwhile, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao has seen the greatest drop in his net worth. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated his worth at $65 billion. However, he is now only worth $4.5 billion, making him the wealthiest crypto billionaire.
The decline in his net worth is due to a variety of factors, including the failure of projects in which Binance invested, such as Terra Luna and FTX. Customers and regulators are also questioning the financial health of Binance and CZ.
There are also allegations that the exchange may have aided in the commission of financial crimes. With CZ owning 70% of Binance, the exchange’s ailing health has impacted his net worth.
Other exchange founders, including the Winklevoss twins and Coinbase founders, saw their net worth plummet significantly as well.
Nikil Viswanathan and Joe Lau of Alchemy, as well as Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah of OpenSea, are two crypto investors who are no longer billionaires. Others who have made significant investments in Bitcoin include Michael Saylor and Tim Draper.
Jed McCaleb is the only crypto billionaire who has not been adversely affected by market conditions this year. Because he has sold most of his crypto holdings, the Ripple co-net founder’s worth has dropped from $2.5 billion to $2.4 billion.
