A new ranking from @0xchainink lists what it says are the 20 richest people in the crypto industry, and the order points to where the sector's largest fortunes sit: exchanges and stablecoin i
A new ranking from @0xchainink lists what it says are the 20 richest people in the crypto industry, and the order points to where the sector's largest fortunes sit: exchanges and stablecoin issuers.
@Binance founder @cz_binance tops the list at nearly $115 billion. That figure is broadly in line with Forbes estimates. Forbes put Zhao's net worth at about $110 billion on its world billionaires list, and the foundation of his fortune remains Binance, the privately held exchange headquartered in the United Arab Emirates.Legal filings linked to the investigation suggest Zhao owns about 90% of the company. Part of his wealth is also tied to $BNB.
Spots 2 to 5 are held by people connected to stablecoin issuer @Tether, including CEO @paoloardoino. Forbes-based figures reported by Il Sole 24 Ore show how large those stakes have become: Tether co-founder Giancarlo Devasini ranks 21st in the world with an estimated $89.3 billion, while Ardoino is 52nd globally with $38 billion. Forbes' own profile of Ardoino says he owns an estimated 20% stake in the business.
Wealth at privately held firms like Binance and Tether is hard to pin down. Estimates depend on valuation methods rather than disclosed financials, and CZ has previously pushed back on rankings of this kind. He said the Forbes figure was "not accurate" and described rich lists as "guess a number lists." The same caveat applies to the new top-20 list, whose methodology has not been independently verified.
@Ripple's Chris Larsen takes the eighth spot with $8.4 billion. That is consistent with other recent rankings: one tally has Brian Armstrong, Justin Sun and Chris Larsen following near $8.5 billion. Larsen's wealth is closely linked to $XRP and his stake in Ripple.
The more surprising placement is @Ethereum co-founder @VitalikButerin, who comes in only 18th. Buterin has long been one of the best-known figures in the industry, but his ranking reflects a different wealth profile. Exchange owners and stablecoin shareholders hold equity in businesses that generate revenue at scale, while founders of open-source networks like $ETH often do not hold comparable ownership stakes.
The list underlines a pattern across crypto rich lists: the biggest fortunes are concentrated in centralised businesses, not in the decentralised protocols that gave the industry its start.
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