As of January 2022, the combined value of all publicly-listed cryptocurrencies was worth above $2.2 trillion. This represents a remarkable increase from around $760 billion in 12 months earlier.
These are heady times for digital currencies, with an increasing number of analysts and investors becoming bullish on their future potential. However, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill Main St investor that is bullish on the cryptocurrency space.
Even some of the richest people in the world are getting in on this action to get a piece of this new and growing pie. Let’s take a look at 12 billionaires preferring to stake a substantial amount of their wealth in cryptocurrencies over fiat money.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg has been vocal about his interest in cryptocurrencies since December 2017, when he posted a photo on Facebook of himself setting up a private wallet on Coinbase.
The Meta CEO is a classic example of someone who understands the value of decentralized systems like cryptocurrencies. As a privacy advocate, it seems only natural that he would be drawn to this technology.
Zuckerberg has also expressed interest in the blockchain technology behind many cryptocurrencies, which could be used to build a secure digital identity system for Facebook users. This would be a huge development for the internet if realized and could change the way we interact with services like Facebook for the better.
Michael Novogratz
Michael Novogratz is a former hedge fund manager and military-trained asset manager who has a net worth of $2.5 billion. He made headlines in 2017 when he invested $10 million in cryptocurrencies and predicted that Bitcoin would reach $10,000 by the end of 2018.
Now, Novogratz is putting his money where his mouth is, launching Galaxy Digital, a crypto hedge fund that has since raised a total investment north of $500 million. The fund is said to be invested in cryptocurrencies and other DeFi-related companies.
According to Novogratz, Galaxy Digital is ultimately committed to its goal of becoming the largest cryptocurrency merchant bank in the world.
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, is one of the most well-known names in the world of business.
Branson has been an early investor and promoter of the use of blockchain technology in the industry on a global scale. He has also made several investments in the cryptocurrency space, including a $100,000 investment in Bitcoin back in 2013, which would be worth $1.9 billion if he had held on to it until now.
Sir Richard Branson by Gulltaggen.
Branson has also invested in a blockchain-based travel company called Virgin Voyages, which launched in 2021. He has also invested in other blockchain companies, including a payment platform called Ripple, where Branson is a strategic advisor.
Marc Andreessen
Next on the list is Mare Andreessen who boasts one of the most impressive track records in Silicon Valley. He was one of the founders of Netscape, a web browser that was once the standard in internet browsing. Andreessen has also invested in many of the most successful technology companies, such as Facebook, Airbnb, and Lyft.
Andreessen is currently one of the biggest names in Silicon Valley when it comes to cryptocurrency. He has been an active investor in the space through his company, Andreessen Horowitz, which manages a cryptocurrency fund that has made many high-profile investments.
Tim Draper
Tim Draper is a venture capitalist who was an early investor in Skype, Hotmail and Tesla. His investment in Bitcoin stems from a bet that one day, it will become the single global currency.
“I think the best use for Bitcoin is as a currency. As soon as we can buy our food, clothing and shelter in Bitcoin, then there’s no reason to hold on to any fiat currency. Because you’d rather have a currency that is completely trusted, completely away from bad governments, away from banks and that is a great opportunity for people.”
TIM DRAPER
Draper famously purchased a trove of confiscated coins from the Silk Road in 2014 and has since become a huge proponent of Bitcoin as a store of value. He has even predicted that the coin will reach a valuation of $250,000 by 2022, a price that would see it double in just 7 years.
Paul Tudor Jones
Paul Tudor Jones is a hedge fund manager who has a net worth of over $5 billion. Jones has been involved in the cryptocurrency space since its early days, famously telling his clients in 1993 that “We’re going to earn $100 on every $100 invested.” Jones has long been bullish on digital currencies, famously predicting that Bitcoin would hit $10,000 by the end of 2017.
Jones famously explained his bullishness on cryptocurrencies by noting that “The liquidity of the blockchain is what we’re going to be owning a lot of. I call it Digital Gold.”
Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey is the CEO and Co-Founder of Twitter and is currently worth $5.7 billion. His investment in Bitcoin is a bet on the future of the coin. Dorsey has been an active investor in Bitcoin since 2016.
“The world ultimately will have a single currency, the Internet will have a single currency. I believe that it will be Bitcoin.”
Jack Dorsey by jdlasica
His investment in the Lightning Network, a protocol that aims to speed up Bitcoin transactions, is a sign that he’s committed to this future.
Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban is the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and is worth over $3 billion. Cuban was famously bearish on Bitcoin until he began researching more about the technology underpinning it.
In late 2017, Cuban invested in the stock of a company that mines Bitcoin, believing that this was the best way to get exposure to the coin’s price appreciation. More recently, Cuban has been bullish on the future of Ethereum, noting that it is “the most disruptive technology since the Internet.”
Elon Musk
This list will be incomplete without arguably the most controversial billionaire in the world, Elon Musk. The twitter owner, who also triples as the owner of Tesla and SpaceX has found solace in cryptocurrency.
He is famous for backing crypto projects like Dogecoin with his public tweets and he has been a major influence in the tech industry for years. He has been a consistent vocal supporter of the cryptocurrency industry and endeared himself to the community by famously tweeting last year that he considers Bitcoin to be “real” money.
Musk’s comments suggest that he believes investing in Bitcoin could prove to be an extremely lucrative opportunity.
So far, Musk has invested in the digital payment platform known as the Bitcoin Cash Fund. The Bitcoin Cash Fund was formed to increase the adoption of Bitcoin as a form of payment.
Changpeng CZ Zhao
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that has made headlines for its high volume of trades and its massive profits in its short time in existence. The company is also notable for being helmed by Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ.
CZ is a billionaire in his own right, but he is also an advisor on the board of directors of the Japanese blockchain consortium, known as the Blockchain Alliance. These alliances are popping up in countries all over the world, promoting the advanced technology behind cryptocurrencies.
Chamath Palihapitiya
Chamath Palihapitiya is a prominent venture capitalist who was one of the earliest investors on Facebook. He currently is the CEO and founder of Social Capital, a company that specializes in investing in cryptocurrencies. He recently made headlines when he mentioned that he believes investing in Bitcoin is “as easy as walking to the store and buying a bottle of water.”
Chamath Palihapitiya by jdlasica.
This statement is indicative of how easy it is for anyone to buy and invest in Bitcoin through a cryptocurrency trading platform. As more and more people begin to invest in cryptocurrency, the value of Bitcoin is expected to continue growing as more people purchase it.
Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, a blockchain-focused investment company. Silbert became interested in the blockchain industry when he became involved with the Bitcoin Investment Trust, which was the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund.
It was during this time that he realized how much potential investing in digital assets has. Silbert has since founded several investment funds that focus on the blockchain industry. He also created the Digital Currency Investment Trust, which is a fund for accredited investors. These funds allow investors to invest in cryptocurrencies without ever having to buy them directly.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrencies are still a very new phenomenon in the world of finance. As a result, many people are understandably sceptical of their value and longevity.
However, the fact that many of the wealthiest people in the world are investing in this space indicates that they believe it will continue to grow over the long term. It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds in the coming years.
