Bitcoin’s price collapse eats away at the wealth of major crypto billionaires

During the last few week, there has been a significant sell-off in the crypto market, which has caused many investors’ fortunes to drastically decrease.

Most notably, the Winklevoss twins and other cryptocurrency magnates who placed significant bets on Bitcoin. Indeed, crypto tycoons have been hit as investors flee riskier assets amid global economic upheaval, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Bitcoin’s price was last trading at $27,787, on Thursday, May 12, which is a decrease of 4% from the previous day’s trading level and a decrease of roughly 63% from the all-time high of $68,990 that it reached back in November. 

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s net worth has dropped to nearly $2.2 billion this week. This is a significant decrease from approximately $13.7 billion in November of last year, when the cryptocurrency market was booming. 

FTX founder loses half of his wealth

Since March, the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has seen about half of his on-paper wealth evaporate, bringing his current value down to around $11.3 billion. 

The renowned Bitcoin proponents and founders of the cryptocurrency marketplace Gemini, brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have individually lost more than $2 billion, which is equivalent to almost 40 percent of their combined wealth.

Due to their penchant for volatile trading, leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have attracted the attention of authorities in recent months. In present days, dips in cryptocurrency prices have often moved in unison with drops in high-growth technology stocks as investors’ appetite for risk has diminished. 

Armstrong’s personal wealth has decreased along with Coinbase’s (NASDAQ: COIN) shares, which have decreased by more than 80% during the same time period. About sixteen percent of the company’s total shares is held by Armstrong. 

The share price of Coinbase took a significant hit this week after the cryptocurrency exchange issued a warning to its users that the value of their cryptocurrency holdings may be at risk in the event that Coinbase was ever forced to declare bankruptcy.