Back in February 2018, Forbes Magazine identified 19 of the “Richest in Crypto” based on who had about $1 billion worth in crypto. Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz led the pack along with former child actor Brock Pierce and Coinbase’ then-35 year old CEO Brian Armstrong. But of those 19, only Armstrong appears on Forbes’ much anticipated list of billionaires in 2019.
Who are the most influential people in crypto today? It’s one we often contemplate at Modern Consensus and, with the start of the year, we thought we’d try to answer it as best we can—with a list, of course.
BitMEX CEO defends the billion-dollar crypto exchange: ‘We don’t trade against customers’ (Yahoo Finance UK) Arthur Hayes, CEO of BitMEX, is countering allegations the world’s largest crypto futures exchange is trading against customers, giving preferential access to favored customers when servers go down, and makes money with its insurance fund (which appears as an asset on its balance sheet). He claims their trading desk is treated like any other customer, that BitMEX is working on its server problems, and that the insurance fund—which hasn’t been used in nearly two years—still serves to benefit its customers in times of volatility. Execs are fleeing Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital as the firm…
Billionaire Novogratz Invests in Cryptocurrency Firm Bitfury (Bloomberg) Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital has joined Naver Group of Korea in an $80 million round of funding for Bitfury. The company “sells gear used to mine cryptocurrencies and develops blockchain technology for clients including the Ukrainian government,” notes Bloomberg’s Ruben Munsterman and Ruth David. That puts its valuation above $1 billion. “If it conducts the IPO in the next two years, Bitfury will seek a valuation of $3 billion to $5 billion,” concluded Munsterman and David. Quantification of energy and carbon costs for mining cryptocurrencies (Nature) Another day, another Nature study on the impact of cryptocurrency mining. A week ago, the…
