Brian Armstrong and Sam Bankman-Fried top the crypto-billionaire list, ahead of Changpeng Zhao

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong topped the crypto-billionaire list for 2020, according to the Hurun ranking compiled by the Chinese research institute Hurun.

The list also included founders of Bitcoin exchanges, investors and owners of mining companies. The combined wealth of the 17 participants on the list amounted to $77 billion.

First place went to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong — assets valued at $11.5 billion. In second place was FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried with $10 billion. Completing the top three with $8 billion is Changpeng Zhao, head of Binance.

Hurun separately noted that Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto could have entered the top-25 with a fortune of $50 billion. The estimate is based on a market value of the cryptocurrency at $50,000.

Researchers did not include Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin due to lack of clear information about the cryptocurrencies owned by him.

List of blockchain billionaires. Data: Hurun Global Rich List 2021.

In Hurun’s list this year, Chinese representation rose to 1,058, up from 799 a year earlier. The number of Chinese entrants exceeded those from the United States, India and Germany combined. Overall, the billionaire list expanded by 412 positions — to 3,228.

At the top was Elon Musk ($192 billion), who displaced Jeff Bezos ($189 billion) to second place. The top-10 saw the entry of Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan ($85 billion), the largest bottled-water producer in China.

List of billionaires. Data: Hurun Global Rich List 2021.

The authors of the ranking described blockchain as one of the fastest-growing industries in 2020, alongside e-commerce, electric-vehicle production and biotechnology. This was propelled by new records in the cryptocurrency market and the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of Coinbase’s direct-listing applications, which could value the company over $100 billion.

“We are currently at the heart of the new industrial revolution. Artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data and e-commerce are creating new opportunities and driving wealth concentration. Global billionaires now hold $14 trillion, more than China’s GDP”, — the experts noted.

As a reminder, in Forbes’ crypto billionaire list for 2020, Brian Armstrong again topped the ranking. The publication counted 11 entrants.

Last year in Hurun’s list were Changpeng Zhao, Ketuan Zhang of Bitmain, Star Xu, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, Huobi’s Leon Li and Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong.

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