Author: Jennifer Wang

Translator: Winy Huang

easy Come Easy Go. On May 10, the price of Bitcoin rose to $59,423. However, this was followed by a price plunge that plummeted 36% over the next nine days, while the net worth of the 12 crypto billionaires also dropped significantly. According to "Forbes" estimates, as of 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday (3:00 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday), these 12 billionaires who made their fortunes from cryptocurrencies have lost $15.5 billion, and their net worth has increased from 623 million to 100 million U.S. dollars. billion fell to $46.8 billion.

The price of bitcoin fluctuated wildly, falling as low as $30,846 on Wednesday before bouncing back to $38,083. A year ago, the price of one bitcoin was $9,700.

The biggest loser was Alameda Research founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The founder, 29, was a Wall Street trader. On May 10, the price of bitcoin reached a peak, which also brought the young founder's net worth to $16.7 billion. However, on Wednesday, that figure dropped to $11.5 billion. Sam Bankman-Fried is one of the youngest self-made billionaires on the Forbes Billionaires list. In 2019, he launched FTX, an encrypted derivatives exchange, and his net assets soared rapidly. Most of his fortune is in FTX stock and tokens. Since May 10, the value of the FTX token has dropped by 37%.

The famous twin brothers Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss have also lost a lot over the past nine days. Their net worths each dropped $900 million, or 24 percent, to current net worth estimates of $2.9 billion each. The twins invested in bitcoin in 2012 and created the Gemini crypto exchange in 2014, using proceeds from their dispute with Facebook. The exchange currently trades around $200 million a day.

The person with the largest percentage of losses is the former Internet company billionaire Michael Saylor, who later became a Bitcoin investor. Saylor revealed in October 2020 that he bought 17,732 bitcoins for $175 million. And in 2020, he led business analysis software company MicroStrategy to invest in Bitcoin and purchased 70,784 Bitcoins for $1.1 billion. At the peak of the price of Bitcoin, the value of personal assets reached 3.3 billion US dollars. But his net worth fell 45% over the next nine days, to $1.8 billion.

The rollercoaster ride of cryptocurrencies has similarly robbed another crypto tycoon of his billionaire status. That is Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of blockchain platform Ethereum. The young founder joined the ranks of billionaires on May 3 as the price of ether rose to around $3,300. On May 12, as the price of ether soared to $4,300, Buterin's net worth rose to $1.4 billion. However, with the collapse of cryptocurrencies, Forbes estimates his current net worth has dropped to around $850 million.

However, it’s not all gloom for these crypto billionaires. Despite the plunge in cryptocurrency prices, they are still richer than they were a few months ago. The 12 tycoons are estimated to have a combined fortune of $46.8 billion, up 25 percent from $37.3 billion on March 5, as the value of cryptocurrencies surged in the spring. Take Ripple's XRP, for example: Even after losing more than a quarter of its value on Wednesday, its token is still more than double its price in early March. Furthermore, the IPO (which took place in mid-April) boosted the fortunes of co-founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam despite the recent decline in Coinbase's stock price.

The following is a list of cryptocurrency investment tycoons, as well as the status of assets in the past 9 days (data as of 3:00 pm EST on May 19):

Main asset: FTX token

Net worth as of May 10: $16.7 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $11.5 billion

Increase: -31%

Brian Armstrong

Primary asset: Coinbase stock

Net worth as of May 10: $9.8 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $8.3 billion

Increase: -15%

Chris Larsen

Main asset: XRP

Net worth as of May 10: $6.9 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $5.6 billion

Increase: -19%

Jed McCaleb

Main asset: XRP

Net worth as of May 10: $6 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $4.4 billion

Increase: -27%

Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss

Main Assets: Gemini, Bitcoin

Net worth as of May 10: $3.8 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $2.9 billion

Increase: -24%

Fred Ehrsam

Primary asset: Coinbase stock

Net worth as of May 10: $3.4 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $2.9 billion

Increase: -27%

Michael Saylor

Top assets: MicroStrategy stock, Bitcoin

Net worth as of May 10: $3.3 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $1.8 billion

Increase: -45%

Matthew Roszak

Primary asset: Bitcoin

Net worth as of May 10: $2.8 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $1.7 billion

Increase: -39%

Barry Silbert

Main asset: Digital Currency Group

Net worth as of May 10: $2.1 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $1.8 billion

Zhao Changpeng

Zhao Changpeng

Main asset: Binance

Net worth as of May 10: $1.9 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $1.9 billion

Increase: 0%

Tim Draper

Primary asset: Bitcoin

Net worth as of May 10: $1.8 billion

Net worth as of May 19: $1.1 billion

Increase: -39%

Article source: Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2021/05/19/crypto-billionaires-have-lost-155-billion-in-nine-days-amid-crash/?sh= 4e66e22d2981)