Many people see the cryptocurrency revolution as the new gold rush. While bitcoin was the pioneer and still one of the largest stores of digital wealth, the Ethereum blockchain itself has brought about a drastic evolution of the crypto landscape, facilitating things like smart Many people see the cryptocurrency revolution as the new gold rush. While bitcoin was the pioneer and still one of the largest stores of digital wealth, the Ethereum blockchain has brought about a drastic evolution of the crypto landscape, facilitating things like smart contracts and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. As a result, some early adopters of crypto are well-known names in finance and business and even constitute the most wealthy individuals in the country and beyond.
The Biggest Players In Crypto So Far
The biggest names in crypto seem to have gotten involved, like many retail investors have, with bitcoin. However, some recent advancements in blockchain adaptability and usefulness seem to have tipped the scales, with many now looking to Ethereum for increased functionality and more diverse usability. Here are some of the billionaire household names that have crypto wallets.
Elon Musk
The Auto/Space CEO is a significant proponent of bitcoin while simultaneously being one of its most prominent critics. He is also known throughout social media sites such as Twitter and Reddit for being a big booster and influencer for the meme coin Dogecoin, even promising to “take Dogecoin to Mars.” Musk has stated that he owns ETH, though he won’t divulge the volume of his holdings. Singer Grimes, the mother of one of Musk’s many children, has also sold her artwork as an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain.
Mark Zuckerberg
The unblinking Facebook creator has recently become an Ethereum fan and announced plans to bring the concept of NFTs to his platform Instagram. He has stated that he will allow users to connect their Ethereum wallets to their Instagram accounts, bringing the creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin’s, ambition of having Ethereum “running the metaverse” one step closer. Zuckerberg was behind the Libra cryptocurrency, which rebranded, now known as Diem, which aims to create a stable coin for use in the metaverse.
Mark Cuban
This Investment mastermind is known to be not only a relatively early adopter of bitcoin, but he’s also made headlines for being a backer of lesser-known Lazy.com, which allows NFT owners to show them off in a virtual gallery. Cuban made headlines after getting the “@NFT” account permanently banned from Instagram for reportedly not disclosing which posts were sponsored content. Cuban has stated that NFTs are why he’s now “all in” on crypto, being partial ETH and BTC.
Changpeng Zhao
CEO of one of the largest crypto exchanges and an estimated 30% owner. The Binance “chain” is a fork of the Ethereum chain. While it is essentially an ETH copy, it changes to the consensus protocol, which allows some transactions to be faster but in a more centralized and less secure manner. With the recent surge in blockchain activity, particularly with NFTs on the powerhouse Ethereum blockchain, Zhao has become one of the wealthiest CEOs in the cryptocurrency arena.
Jack Dorsey
The Twitter founder and Block payment system (formerly known as Square) creator eventually quit his position at the social media giant to become what HODLers call a “bitcoin maxi.” He is adamant that bitcoin is the only viable cryptocurrency and owns an estimated 8,000+ BTC. Dorsey is also famous for minting the first tweet on the Twitter platform as an NFT on Ethereum and donating the proceeds to charity. Additionally, Dorsey was rumored to have had a hand in the hexagonal profile pictures on Twitter, which indicates the account owner is involved with a verified NFT and can be activated by subscribing to the Twitter Blue premium service and linking your wallet and account.
Soulja Boy
While known to be an investor in Tron and Binance, he is most recently famous for being named in legal action surrounding an alleged crypto scam. Along with fellow rapper Lil Yachty, he is a defendant in a class-action suit that alleges that they participated in a “pump-and-dump” scheme with the SafeMoon token. Also named in the lawsuit is the brother of Logan Paul, Jake Paul. This scheme allegedly saw the celebrities leverage their status as influencers to artificially raise the token’s value without being open about their partial ownership in the company.
Kim Kardashian
“The Kardashians” TV star was named in a lawsuit alleging that she took part in the pump and dump scheme behind the “EthereumMax” scam. Kim Kardashian received payment from “EthereumMax” to promote the currency in social media posts as a way to gain traction. Kardashian tweeted numerous times, allegedly making false or misleading statements which helped push its value higher than standard utility and usage could have.
Logan Paul
This Social media influencer is one of the newest names in the crypto game. He announced in 2021 that he would be starting his very own cryptocurrency project, known as CryptoZoo. The autonomous ecosystem is similar to a modern-day spin-off of the famous early 2000s online game Neopets. With CryptoZoo, owners will be able to collect, breed, and trade hybrid digital animals in the form of NFTs while earning tokens. Paul is also alleged to have pumped the “Dink Doink” crypto token scam and is currently involved in minting NFTs in a collection called “99 Originals”.
Floyd Mayweather
The Gold Medal Winning, World Class boxer faces a lawsuit for an alleged pump and dump scheme. The allegations state that he misled investors and artificially inflated the price of the cryptocurrency “EthereumMax.” Mayweather made “false or misleading statements” about the lesser-known crypto token in several social media posts. Mayweather also used his fame as a boxer to promote Pump and Dump NFT Projects and even accepted various scam coins as payment for his Exhibition match with Logan Paul.
Regulatory Hurdles and The Road Ahead
While there has been little regulation from the US government, there is still movement toward increased governance. For example, the Internal Revenue Service is beginning to tax crypto owners on their investments. While they won’t tax the purchase of any digital assets yet, it does set a tax on the sale of such holdings as cryptocurrencies and NFT art. Starting in 2022, the IRS has begun to require 1099-B forms for those with significant crypto sales and will collect taxes on the sales of similar assets going forward.
The 115th Congress has also begun looking into potential regulation and increased monitoring of the crypto activities of US citizens. Congress examined the bitcoin ecosystem primarily in their initial blockchain hearings. However, they note the expanded Initial Coin Offerings for other blockchains such as Ethereum have provided a much more accessible entry point for people to explore crypto while also increasing the potential incentive for malicious hacks of extensive exchange infrastructure.
With the current administration showing a decided interest in regulating and taxing crypto assets, there will undoubtedly be more debate coming. As a result, the road ahead for crypto and the large-scale billionaire investors, celebrities, and everyday citizens will undoubtedly be bumpy, but where it leads is still unclear.
The digital landscape is becoming so diverse, and the possibilities blockchain technology offers are many that outright prohibition is all but a moot point now, but that doesn’t mean that regulations aren’t coming. And those shouldering the most considerable burden of risk are the ones with the most significant investments on the line, even if that line is digital.
