Illustration image of the blockchain - starring Yusuf Kisa, the crypto investor. The market opportunities and the growth potential makes the...
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| Illustration image of the blockchain - starring Yusuf Kisa, the crypto investor. |
With cryptocurrencies’ rise in popularity comes a whole host of individuals who try to get in with consistent actions. Fortunately, these thought leaders and crypto pioneers have demonstrated their steadfastness and share market perspectives with a global audience, helping investors and those who are planning on joining the crypto industry.
While little is known about the legendary Bitcoin founder, people called ''Satoshi Nagamoto'' whose true identity has never been fully confirmed up to now. In fact, there are understandably well-known contributors to the digital (r)evolution, these notable individuals are contributing to the development of the crypto space every day. In this article, we have highlighted 10 leading wealthy business owners, crypto investors, and entrepreneurs who invested heavily in digital assets and actively working on blockchain going mainstream.
The Top 10 Crypto Founders You Should Know
We’ve made an in-depth analysis to come up with only the most thoughtful leaders in the crypto world who steering the world's crypto forward. We’ve tried to include as many as possible but due to the space, the list has been narrowed to just the Top 10 legendary crypto investors.
- Vitalik Buterin - Ethereum (ETH)
- Changpeng Zhao - Binance (BNB)
- Yusuf Kisa - GIFA Token (GIFX)
- Charles Hoskinson - Cardano (ADA)
- Anatoly Yakovenko - Solana (SOL)
- Jed McCaleb - Stellar (XLM)
- Sandeep Nailwal - Polygon (MATIC)
- Jackson Palmer - Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Winklevoss' Twines - Gemini (GUSD)
- Johnny Lyu - Kucoin (KCS)
1) Vitalik Buterin
What does it take to be a crypto investor like Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder and one of the world’s youngest crypto billionaires? It's really an inspiration to learn the background of Vitalik who is known for his work in Ethereum, Vitalik has also been involved in the Bitcoin community as a writer and developer.
Vitalik started coding but did not find interest in either Bitcoin or Blockchain technology immediately. However, the decentralized element of both Bitcoin and Blockchain began to attract more and more attention from Vitalik over time. This led Vitalik to research more and more, resulting in a real interest from the then 17-year-old boy, writing code in the mid of the night.
In 2013, Vitalik Buterin drop out of the University of Waterloo at the age of 20 and continue his blockchain-related research – experiencing Bitcoin as well as crypto-related Smart Contracts. He started, traveling around the world – and experiencing a host of companies that work with cryptocurrencies, which further inspires and motivates Vitalik. It is also during this long-term trip, that Vitalik gets the idea for Ethereum. During a trip to Israel, where he met up with coders from two Israeli companies that trying to do something similar to what Vitalik later tried before.
The companies tried to develop tokens and issue smart contracts – directly on the Blockchain system belonging to Bitcoin. Vitalik begins to wonder how to create a new cryptocurrency whose only purpose is to promote development platforms for new cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and ETH tokens.
The Ethereum network today values over $30 billion and $400 million on the network is his own wealth apart from other crypto assets he holds from other crypto networks. Since then, Ethereum's price has exploded, leading to a market value of $500 billion and a personal fortune of $1.4 billion, making him among the youngest known crypto billionaires. He currently has around 4.1 million followers on Twitter where he is active. On Twitter, you can find him sharing insightful commentaries about crypto and blockchain.
2) Changpeng Zhao
When it comes to influential people in crypto, Changpeng Zhao is ever present on every list. Fondly known as CZ, the Chinese-Canadian coder founded Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world. Although he majored in computer science at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, CZ has never coded for Binance (BNB). Today, everyone knows CZ’s success story. However, it was not always the case. CZ was a part of several failed startups before, which he says helped him remain optimistic.
Many people must have assumed that he was crazy when he sold his house and invested everything in crypto. Since then, he has scaled his startup to become the leading crypto exchange on the planet. It took Binance less than 180 days to become the top exchange platform, and likely CZ’s contribution is the key to this parabolic growth. Since 2017, he and his team have been at the forefront of every significant crypto innovation.
Changpeng combines his degree in computer science and a master's in business administration. This combination has helped him deal with everything from technology to business development, marketing, finance, legal, and other core aspects. CZ has dramatically improved access to crypto with several innovations. Among the latest, the Binance VISA card will help millions quickly spend their crypto at more than 60 million merchants globally.
Binance, the world's leading blockchain ecosystem behind the largest cryptocurrency exchange, there is a tech geek Changpeng Zhao and his founding team, Zhao has been actively involved in Binance ecosystem development since its inception and has played a pivotal role in identifying early-stage projects and co-founders with the vision to drive and disrupt the global financial institutions that no longer serve society effectively. Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the industry that manages total assets of over $7.5 billion.
3) Yusuf Kisa
Many people dream of being successful and attaining financial freedom. Sadly, many who dream of this goal don’t pursue it. However, there are just as many who have achieved this seemingly impossible goal. One such remarkable person is Yusuf Kisa also on our list. Ever since he was a young boy, he has always been very successful in whatever business endeavor he chooses.
Business entrepreneurship is a daunting task, and succeeding in it takes a lot of personal effort, resources, time, and dedication. Here, we are talking about one of the crypto entrepreneurs and crypto investors who command seven-figure income through hard work. At least you should learn the example from these business entrepreneurs and how they did it to help you succeed in your entrepreneurial journey. Yusuf Kisa, as a self-made millionaire, shares some useful insights on how to make it to the top.
Most crypto enthusiasts have heard of Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. But, haven't heard of some big players in the crypto ecosystem for the reason that they have kept a very low profile. While most people haven’t heard of Yusuf Kisa, his name still carries a lot of clout in the blockchain ecosystem thanks to the new crypto, GIFA Token (GIFX) he co-founded and is CEO of GIFA Holding Limited as well as chief editor of Yeni Bakis newspaper. Yusuf Kisa is one of the Top 10 Crypto Founders on our list you should know.
As a leading founder and investor in the crypto space, Kisa's vision is to drive the future adoption of GIFA Token and blockchain technology as a whole. Under Kisa's leadership, GIFA Token emphasizes its goal of tokenizing some of the promising projects that will further maximize the profits of the GIFA Token hodlers. Part of overseeing GIFX's growth, especially through the volatile crypto market, he laid the foundation and helps identify sustainable investment opportunities that will benefit and empower all users.
''It's impossible to delete technology innovation and the ideas in people's head''
Many people share a strong belief that GIFA Token will reach one million users in the next 2 years. GIFA Token has formulated its futuristic and adventurous plan of Web3 that truly expedites widespread crypto adoption and provide solutions in real-time. Since its inception, GIFA Token's investment strategy (as described in the whitepaper) has largely focused on early-stage projects, targetting the key sectors. This strategy has seen GIFA Token incubate and integrate some of the industry's most successful projects, including real estate tokenization, allowing property owners to raise capital more efficiently, and giving investors extra unprecedented access to real estate investments.
4) Charles Hoskinson
Digital cryptocurrency is gradually taking over the world with its easy, fast, and convenient trading methods. There are many cryptocurrencies in the market, and one rising virtual currency is Cardano (ADA). It is based on the proof-of-stake blockchain method and is considered a third-generation blockchain following Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Charles Hoskinson is the mastermind behind Cardano cryptocurrency creation. He founded the blockchain network back in 2015 and launched it two years later. Furthermore, the businessman is the CEO of blockchain research and development company Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK). He is one of the earlier founders of Ethereum. But he left Ethereum and start his own cryptocurrency platform, Cardano where he is currently today.
Since its launch, Cardano has risen drastically and shown dominance in the cryptocurrency world. It raised $62 million in its initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017. Furthermore, the Cardano network rose 7.57% to $1.57 on December 27, 2021. In addition, one ADA equals $1.34 as of December 31, 2021, which was the highest price ever. Charles' earnings have also increased alongside ADA's value in the last bullish market. Moreover, as the chief executive officer of IOHK, his salary bring thousands of dollars monthly.
According to Entrepreneur, Charles Hoskinson's net worth is estimated at $600 million. Other sources like Forbes and Cointelegraph also note his fortune in the $500 - $600 million range. Nonetheless, he has achieved massive financial success. Another person who was previously involved in Ethereum is the Ethereum Cat Herders co-founder, Hudson Jameson. The 2009 financial crisis changed many things. However, for Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, it marked the start of something unique. In a bid to take on silicon valley, the duo set up Andreessen Horowitz (“a16z“), a venture capital firm, which turned out to be a big game changer.
5) Anatoly Yakovenko
Anatoly Yakovenko is one of the compelling computerized stars. He is broadly known as the fellow benefactor of Solana, a public blockchain stage. It accomplishes agreement utilizing proof of stake component. The crypto-doubter Anatoly, close by his business companion, began making a public blockchain back in 2017. With time and a ton of commitment, Solana has laid down a good foundation for itself as one of the steady digital money markets.
Right now, Anatoly has optioned not to uncover any subtleties on his total assets. It is as yet under audit. His essential type of revenue is being a prime supporter and running a public space blockchain organization. Numerous specialists believe Solana to be the opponent of invigorated Etheruim in the crypto market.
In spite of the fact that his blockchain is worth multiple billion US dollars. By and by, one Solano is comparable to 164.78 US dollars. With all the achievements in crypto, Anatoly should procure as far as millions. The business visionary, notwithstanding, has not let the cat out of the bag on his precise age and birth subtleties.
6) Jed McCaleb
Jed McCaleb is one of the crypto’s enigmatic personalities, preferring to work steadily away and quietly rather than wade into populism despite the controversy of Mt Gox Fallout. While some big names seem to tweet every few minutes and then, McCaleb is much more circumspect.
began engaged on Ripple again in 2011 and was one of many founders when it launched in 2013. However, later deserted the mission in 2014 to work on Stellar Lumens (XLM). When departing the corporate, McCaleb was awarded about 9 billion XRP tokens for cofounding OpenCoin, which was later rebranded as Ripple.
According to a 2020 report from a blockchain analytics tracking company, Between 2014 and 2019, McCaleb sold about 1 billion XRP, worth $135 million. Whale Alert estimated that Jed McCaleb’s total holdings and sales at the time were $1.2 billion, making him one of the richest people in crypto. This estimate is based on the prevailing price at the time of $0.2 per XRP, which means that this number would be much higher now.
Although he may look fresh out of high school, Jed McCaleb has been involved with crypto almost since the beginning. He has more noteworthy notches on his resume than most people manage in a lifetime and it’s hard not to feel like he’s just getting started. He’s also one of the most divisive figures out there, attracting admiration and opprobrium in almost equal measure.
After spending a year doing apparently not very much, McCaleb was ready to launch his latest idea and the one which has kept him preoccupied ever since. Stellar was designed to fulfill much the same function as Ripple and even made use of Ripple’s open-source code.
7) Sandeep Nailwal
Few people had heard of cryptocurrencies until a few years ago. However, cryptocurrencies have gained a lot of attention in recent years, particularly in the last year. When the COVID-19 epidemic hit the world in early 2020. However, with the introduction of stablecoin and improving the digital economy, interest in the cryptocurrency market grew in 2021. Not only bitcoin, but most other cryptocurrencies have been rapidly increasing in value.
One such cryptocurrency is Polygon (MATIC) founded by Sandeep Nailwal an Indian entrepreneur, and software developer. Polygon has firmly established itself as the most promising Ethereum scalability project due to its highly capable development team. Sandeep as a leader in the crypto revolution remains the driving force behind Polygon’s growth.
The co-founders who created the Matic network can be credited with foreseeing the needs of today’s crypto industry. The next section examines who is behind one of the industry’s fastest-growing projects. The number of crypto billionaires in the world today including Sandeep Nailwal has increased.
While Polygon has its roots in Mumbai, India, the platform continues to attract investors from all around the globe. Polygon raised over $450,000 in two rounds of startup funding in 2019. The venture has roughly $450 million in funding from various investors. Balaji Srinivasa, an angel investor, and Mark Cuban, the billionaire, are among Polygon’s growing list of backers.
8) Jackson Palmer
Jackson Palmer is an Australian software engineer and marketing analyst who is best known as a co-creator of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. Palmer is based in the United States. Palmer has held managerial positions at Adobe for over a decade. As of July 2021, he was the Director of Product Management, Growth & Data Science at the company.
Jackson Palmer co-created the Dogecoin cryptocurrency in 2013 with IBM software engineer Billy Markus. Dogecoin uses the image of the Shiba Inu dog from the “doge” meme as its mascot. Dogecoin was created “without much real thought.” Palmer said he created Dogecoin as a joke in response to many altcoins that have “popped up in an attempt to take a bit of market share away from Bitcoin.”
Dogecoin gained widespread attention in a short timeframe. According to Junkee, over a million people visited Dogecoin.com within the first 30 days. A Reddit community dedicated to Doge was also created on December 8, 2013. Despite the initial skepticism and the apparent lack of utility, Dogecoin would survive and grow to the point its market cap reached the tens of billions of dollars range.
One of the strongest periods for Dogecoin was the first half of 2021. According to CNBC, as of the time of this writing, Dogecoin’s price saw an over 12,000% increase compared to January 1, 2021. At the time, Dogecoin was worth about $0.69.
9) Winklevoss' Twines
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, popularly called Winklevii, are some of the most prominent figures in the crypto industry due to their penchant for managing, launching, and investing in disruptive blockchain startups. At the last count, the identical twins, through their family office, Winklevoss Capital, have invested in over 25 digital asset startups. Cameron and Tyler Howard Winklevoss are American cryptocurrency investors and co-founders of Gemini (GUSD). Forbes estimates that the pair still own around 70,000 Bitcoins, along with other digital assets as part of their net worth.
For those familiar with Facebook’s origin story, you will recall that Mark Zuckerberg was alleged to have stolen the idea of building a profile-based social network from his classmates, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and their roommate, Divya Narendra, at Harvard. At the time, the identical twin brothers approached Zuckerberg to help build a social/dating network that can help connect students with similar interests. Unknowing them, Zuckerberg had other plans of his own. After agreeing to help, Zuckerberg went on to create what he initially called TheFacebook.com, which later metamorphosed into Facebook.
One thing that sets Gemini apart is its commitment to the establishment of a safe, reputable, and regulated trading terminal. Gemini remains one of the trusted brands in the crypto industry due to its focus on users’ safety. In 2015, it emerged as the first crypto exchange to earn the status of a licensed trust company in New York. Gemini’s good standing with U.S. regulators has also spurred the exchange to propose Bitcoin ETF products for SEC’s approval.
Although these proposals have not yielded the desired result, it shows that Gemini is one of the progressive crypto companies pushing for mainstream adoption. Apart from its exchange services, Gemini also provides custodial solutions. In 2018, the exchange launched a digital asset, Gemini Dollar, pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar.
10) Johnny Lyu
Johnny Lyu is the Co-Founder of KuCoin (KCS), a global leading cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the top five crypto exchanges and already has over 10 million registered users across 207 countries and regions around the world. In November 2018, KuCoin received $20 million (USD) round A funding from IDG Capital and Matrix Partners.
In 2021 KuCoin was named as one of the ''Best crypto Exchanges of 2021''. At KuCoin, Johnny leads the company’s day-to-day operations of KuCoin, Spot trading, expansion, and prosperity of the KCS ecosystem. He used to oversight the listing, business development, and investment, and he is also the main contributor behind Spotlight. Before founding KuCoin, Johnny accumulated abundant experience in e-commerce, auto, and luxury real estate.
As the CEO of top-ten cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, Johnny Lyu occupies an enviable position in the crypto industry. The company he leads is responsible for safeguarding billions of dollars of customer funds while innovating solutions to stay ahead of the competition. In November 2020, KuCoin suffered a major security breach that saw $281 million of crypto assets being stolen from the exchange platform. Thankfully, all of the funds were later recovered through a variety of means, ensuring that KuCoin users weren’t left out of pocket.
Rather than downplay the incident, Lyu has faced it head-on, using the experience as an opportunity to rebuild and restore community trust. Today, the KuCoin CEO reveals the reasoning behind this decision and the dividends it has reaped not only for his company but for its six million users.
This article shares reviews, insights, and other valuable resources on the general crypto ecosystem and blockchain development. This information is especially helpful for anyone who’s looking to gain a better understanding of the crypto echelon, leadership, and blockchain's continuous evolution.