Bitcoin traded at an all-time high of $60,000+, and several other tokens saw similar gains earlier this year. As a result, many early investors and Cryptocurrency believers were instantly transported to the Crypto billionaires list. Here are exciting stories of crypto billionaires, including three of the first crypto billionaires from India.
Jayanti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun
Jayanti Kanani, the son of a diamond factory worker who lived in a small house on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, is one of India’s first crypto billionaires and his Polygon co-founders, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun.
Formerly called Matic Network, Polygon is an Ethereum protocol that aims to create, issue, and manage digital securities on the blockchain. The valuation of Polygon’s native token, Matic, soared from a mere $26 million in 2019 to over $14 billion in recent times. This increase in Matic’s price has turned its co-founders into India's first crypto billionaires with a 4-5% stake in the cryptocurrency.
The Winklevoss Brothers
The Winklevoss brothers (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss), known for co-founding HarvardConnection (later renamed ConnectU), sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, claiming he stole their ConnectU idea to create Facebook. Subsequently, they received a settlement of $65 million, which they used to buy Bitcoin and establish the crypto exchange Gemini. The advantage of early investment reaped a whopping fortune for both the brothers. A recent estimate puts their combined net worth at $6 billion.
Michael Saylor
Michael Saylor is the CEO of software firm MicroStrategy. Though he lost a fortune in the first dot-com bust, his early Bitcoin investments came to his rescue, boosting his net worth to over $2 billion.
In July 2020, his firm, MicroStrategy, decided to purchase Bitcoin, gold, or other alternative assets instead of holding cash. In the following months, the company bought 21,454 Bitcoins with $250 million from its cash reserve. Then, in March, as Bitcoin prices soared, Saylor’s investment also grew, giving him the benefit of several million dollars.
Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen co-founded two e-lending start-ups in 1996 and 2005, before moving to co-found Ripple, a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network created by Ripple Labs Inc, in which Larsen has 17% stake. Not surprisingly, his fortune rose exponentially by $800 million in the past few months, as the value of Ripple’s XRP soared. Today, his net worth is $4.6 billion.
Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao is a former software developer. His father was a professor who was temporarily exiled from China. Zhao flipped burgers at McDonald’s and worked at a gas station overnight to cover household expenses.
In 2014, he sold his house in Shangai to go all-in on Bitcoin. He launched Binance in 2017 that went on to become the most popular place to trade crypto. Today, his net worth is a little less than $2 billion, thanks to his early Bitcoin investments that skyrocketed in the recent past.
Who’s Next?
Early investors in cryptocurrency are undoubtedly enjoying their spot in the sun. However, it’s still not too late to diversify your portfolio with Cryptocurrency assets. On CoinDCX Go, you can buy your first Bitcoin and other altcoins for as low as Rs. 100. All you need to do is download the app, set up your account in a few taps, and start purchasing your favorite crypto assets from a list of curated coins on the app. You may also view the informative tutorials on the CoinDCX website to learn more about cryptocurrency trading.
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