Bitcoin Breakout | 6 New Crypto Billionaires

THE BREAKOUT

“Uptober” it is: after a (traditionally) rough September, the crypto market is back on the upswing. On Wednesday, the price of bitcoin jumped to more than $55,000, reaching its highest level in nearly five months and helping the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization eclipse $1 trillion for the first time since May. “The bullish crypto sentiment reflects, in part, statements coming out of Washington D.C., from SEC Gary Gensler and Fed Chair Jerome Powell disavowing a ban on bitcoin, and the usual trend of dramatic price breakouts following periods of low volatility,” writes Forbes’ director of data and analytics, Javier Paz.

Paz also notes that the commercial sector—generally made up of corporate hedgers with deep industry insight and a more conservative stance—has accelerated its purchasing of bitcoin futures, according to data from CME Group (largely seen as a proxy for institutional interest). Also fueling bullish sentiment, Bank of America on Monday launched cryptocurrency research coverage, calling the nascent market “too large to ignore” in a note to clients. For in-depth takes, check out the latest market update from our director of research Steven Ehrlich [premium content]. In other news, dogecoin knockoff Shiba Inu (SHIB) became the 12th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization on Thursday, soaring a staggering 385% in one week—thanks to yet another canine-themed tweet from Elon Musk...or the SHIB “whales?”

LUCKY 7

While the normally-wealthy retail investors collect gains from the latest rally, let’s talk about the ultra-wealthy. For the first time ever, seven billionaires who built their fortune in the world of cryptocurrencies made Forbes’ list of the nation’s richest—six of them are newcomers. The crypto septet on this year’s Forbes 400 list is collectively worth an estimated $55.1 billion. Notably, almost a half of that treasure trove, $22.5 billion, belongs to one man—the 29-year-old CEO of crypto derivatives exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, featured in the cover story of the magazine’s latest issue. In two years, Bankman-Fried built what is now one of the industry’s largest trading platforms, processing $13.8 billion in daily volume. Save for Mark Zuckerberg, no one in history has ever gotten so rich so young.

Other first-timers include Coinbase cofounders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, owners of Coinbase competitor Gemini, and cofounder of Ripple, Jed McCaleb. They join Chris Larsen, another Ripple cofounder who appeared on the list last year with a net worth of $2.7 billion. Today, his wealth is estimated at $6 billion.

A $3 BILLION GAME

Netflix’s hit series Squid Game might be taking over the world, but here’s a real game that lets players earn, without the grotesqueness—Axie Infinity. The game uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to reward players, who breed, battle and trade digital pets called “Axies.” And after the $152 million Series B round, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), its developer company Sky Mavis is now worth $3 billion,  according to Tuesday’s announcement. The game is now the most traded NFT collection ever, having surpassed $2 billion in historical trading volume, according to data from analytics platform DappRadar. In total, NFTs generated $10.67 billion in trading volume during the third quarter, an increase of 704% from the previous quarter, DappRadar’s report shows.

BLOCKCHAIN 50 CALL FOR 2022 NOMINATIONS

Over the first three years of the Forbes Blockchain 50, our list of billion-dollar companies making meaningful use of the technology popularized by bitcoin has become a bellwether of institutional adoption. The list shines light on how large corporations—often household names like Walmart and Novartis—are using blockchain tech to improve business processes and become more efficient and profitable. Now is your chance to help us find the best possible honorees for next year. Submit a nomination here and help us spread the word using #Blockchain50 on Twitter.

Source: Messari. Prices as of 4:00 p.m. on October 8, 2021.

ELSEWHERE

Anyone Seen Tether’s Billions? [Bloomberg]

SEC Subpoenas USDC Stablecoin Backer Circle [CoinDesk]

Justice Department Sets Up National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team [The Wall Street Journal]

Steven Ehrlich
Editor 
Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor

Nina Bambysheva
Reporter
Forbes Money & Markets

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