The cryptocurrency industry is fraught with risks. Not only volatility, but also blockchain-specific risks such as seed-phrase loss or security breaches. That said, some individuals, oftentimes founders, have managed to accrue large sums of capital through cryptocurrency’s growth over the past decade.

We take a look at some of the industry’s biggest names, and deep dive into their personal crypto-bags, using Arkham Intelligence’s platform. 

In particular:

• Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum [$398 million]
• Justin Sun, founder of TRON [$1.07 billion]
• Donald Trump, former-US President [$2.56 million]
• Jeffrey Wilcke, co-founder of Ethereum [$242 million]

Vitalik Buterin: $398 Million

Despite falling prey to a recent SIM-swap attack, which saw the founder lose nearly $700,000, Buterin’s personal bags remain largely undiminished, with Arkham attributing close to $400 million to his on-chain holdings. 

Unsurprisingly, Buterin’s portfolio consists almost entirely of Ethereum, with Arkham’s dashboard indicating some 248,013 ETH (equivalent to around $396 million) in his personal wallets.

However, Buterin’s wallets also contain smaller holdings of other tokens in the ecosystem. In particular, more than $320,000 in wrapped Ethereum (WETH) - an Ethereum equivalent designed to interact more easily with smart contracts.

It is worth noting here that Buterin previously held more than half a million dollars in MakerDAO’s MKR token. Though this was sold just days ago, as reported by BSC News.

Justin Sun: $1.07 Billion

A prominent but controversial figure in the blockchain ecosystem, Arkham Intelligence attributes more than a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency to the founder of TRON (TRX) - a digital asset which itself holds a market capitalization of some $7.2 billion, at time of writing. 

Unlike in the case of Buterin, Sun’s holdings are more diversified, with the bulk of his holdings spread across four key assets:

• wstETH - $307 million
• USDD - $293 million
• USDJ - $215 million
• TRX - $134 million

It is perhaps unsurprising that Sun should hold large sums of the latter three tokens. USDD is a TRON-native algorithmic stablecoin, launched by Justin Sun himself, and USDJ is another stablecoin associated with TRON-native DeFi protocol, Just Network.

However, what is interesting is Sun’s largest portfolio section, consisting of a staked version of Ethereum (ETH). Given TRON’s smart contract capability and PoS consensus mechanism, one could be forgiven for considering it a competitor to Ethereum. In this sense, Sun’s HODLing of Ethereum LSD assets may be seen as an expression of faith in Ethereum dominance continuing into the future…

Donald Trump: $2.56 Million

Whilst certainly not a crypto-native figure, the influence of Donald Trump on the world stage renders a glimpse into his personal crypto holdings interesting at the very least. That said, the former-president has already made a splash in the blockchain industry, having debuted his very own NFT collection. 

According to Arkham, Trump’s on-chain holdings currently amount to around $2.56 million, certainly placing him at the smaller end of today’s cryptocurrency rich-list. Nearly the entirety of Donald Trump’s portfolio is held in Ethereum (ETH). Specifically, 1,552 ETH worth approximately $2.5 million, at time of writing. That said, his portfolio currently also holds just under $40,000 in WETH - ETH’s functionality-focused cousin.

Jeffrey Wilcke: $242 Million

The second of two Ethereum co-founders to feature on our list, Wilcke has been attributed as the creator of Ethereum from an implementation-standpoint. Perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore, of the more than $242 million of on-chain assets attributed to Wilcke, north of $241 million sits in ETH - the asset that he helped to create.

That said, what is perhaps more interesting are the small holdings seen for tokens with altogether lower market capitalization and prominence. In particular, SNT, the native token of Status.im - a “secure messaging app, crypto wallet, and Web3 browser built with state of the art technology.”