Binance’s CZ Overtakes Bitmain Co-Founder in New Hurun Rich List

Whereas China now has extra billionaires than the USA and India mixed, Binance CEO may need more cash than any crypto particular person, a brand new report says.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has overtaken a co-founder of cryptocurrency mining large Bitmain in the newest Hurun International Rich List, an annual rating of the world’s greatest billionaires printed Chinese language media Hurun Report.

Issued on Feb. 26, the brand new Hurun Report’s record of two,816 international billionaires consists of six people who made their fortune from blockchain and crypto trade.

Bitmain’s ousted co-founder misplaced over one billion {dollars} in a 12 months

Equally to earlier compilations by the Hurun Analysis Institute, the Hurun International Rich List 2020 consists of well-known names in the trade corresponding to Binance’s CZ, OKCoin’s founder Xu Mingxing and Chris Larsen, a co-founder and former CEO of Ripple.

Nevertheless, the newest Hurun blockchain billionaires record has not less than one important change — Bitmain’s ousted co-founder Micree Ketuan Zhan, who’s known because the long-term chief in the record, has fallen behind Binance CEO.

In one in all earlier annual lists of the world’s greatest billionaires, the Hurun International Rich List 2019, Zhan was ranked the highest billionaire amongst 5 crypto and blockchain billionaires, with an estimated wealth of $2.7 billion. Within the newest Hurun record, Zhan has slipped to the second rank, with internet value standing at $1.6 billion.

On the similar time, Binance CEO’s rank has notably surged from $1.3 billion in 2019 to $2.6 billion in 2020, in accordance with the publicly accessible lists.

The six wealthiest blockchain and crypto individuals in the newest Hurun record are:

1. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao ($2.6 billion).
2. Bitmain’s ousted co-founder Micree Zhan Ketuan ($1.6 billion).
3. OKCoin’s founder Xu Mingxing ($1.4 billion).
4. Ripple’s Chris Larsen ($1.3 billion).
5. Huobi’s founder Leon Li ($1.1 billion).
6. Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of main United States crypto change Coinbase ($1 billion).

Zhan was faraway from Bitmain in late 2019

The Bitmain’s co-founder dip in the Hurun billionaire rankings comes after Zhan was removed as a authorized consultant of the corporate in November 2019. As reported by Cointelegraph, Zhan was dismissed by Bitmain’s present CEO Jihan Wu. In January 2020, Zhan publicly opposed alleged layoffs at Bitmain, which was reportedly planning to chop its workforce by 50% in relation to the upcoming Bitcoin (BTC) halving in Might 2020. Zhan additionally reportedly initiated courtroom proceedings towards Bitmain shareholders to revive his voting management of the agency.

Zhan’s removing from Bitmain preceded stories on Bitmain seeing its hashrate market share drop from 75% to 66% in December 2019.

In the meantime, Binance’s CZ has been getting increasingly more traction in the crypto group to become the highest ranked crypto particular person in the Cointelegraph’s first-ever High 100 record. On the similar time, CZ may need been going through some reputational points not too long ago because of unscheduled upkeep of Binance on Feb. 19, which proved to be a significant downside on the platform.