Encryption Tycoons 2025 Wealth Fluctuation Record: Some people's fortunes doubled while others' assets declined by 50%.

The year 2025 is one of intense collisions between narrative and reality for the crypto assets industry, marking a sharp division of wealth. Despite Bitcoin's price falling about 6% from its peak at the beginning of the year, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows a stark contrast in the wealth trajectories of industry leaders: the stablecoin giants emerged as the biggest winners, with Circle founder Jeremy Allaire's wealth soaring by 149%, and Tether chairman Giancarlo Devasini's net worth rising by 60% to $13.2 billion; meanwhile, the once-flourishing pioneer of “BitShares,” Michael Saylor, saw his wealth shrink by 37%, and the Winklevoss twins' fortune plummeted by 59%. Behind this wealth reshuffling is a profound reflection of the industry’s transition from barbaric growth to compliance and basic service-oriented transformation.

Winning Camp: How Stablecoins and Financial Service Giants Rise Against the Trend?

When the prices of most tokens are mired in a quagmire, a niche sector has quietly created an astonishing wealth myth - stablecoins. Circle founder Jeremy Allaire is undoubtedly one of the most prominent winners of 2025. His wealth has soared 149% since it was first measured, driven primarily by the widespread adoption of its USDC stablecoin and the company's successful capital market operations. With circulation exceeding 77 billion USD, Circle not only successfully went public with a valuation of 6.9 billion USD, but also achieved a net profit of 214 million USD in the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of over 200%. This demonstrates that providing the infrastructure business for “legal tender in the crypto world” has strong profitability and valuation resilience that can withstand market cycles.

Another peak of wealth is built by Tether Chairman Giancarlo Devasini. His net worth increased by 60% in 2025, reaching $13.2 billion. Tether's USDT circulation increased by more than 15% this year, reaching a scale of $186 billion, solidifying its dominant position. More astonishingly, the company distributed over $10 billion in dividends to shareholders, and if the discussed $50 billion valuation financing plan succeeds, it could elevate Devasini to the throne of the world's richest in crypto. The stablecoin issuer relies on a massive pool of deposited funds to obtain huge interest margin profits, turning into a “wealth creation machine” in an environment of high interest rates.

In addition, companies providing comprehensive institutional services also performed steadily. Mike Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital, saw his wealth increase by 32%, with the company’s total revenue skyrocketing by 200% to 28.4 billion dollars in the third quarter, a key growth point stemming from providing asset management services to an influx of corporate crypto treasuries. This reveals a trend: as more traditional companies attempt to hold crypto assets, professional, regulated financial service providers become an indispensable bridge and earn substantial management fees from it.

Overview of Key Changes in Crypto Billionaires' Wealth in 2025

Significant Riser：

• Jeremy Allaire (Circle): Wealth $1.7 billion, up 149% from the initial count.
• Giancarlo Devasini (Tether): Wealth $13.2 billion, annual rise 60%.
• Mike Novogratz (Galaxy Digital): Wealth 6.7 billion USD, annual rise 32%.

Relatively Stable:

• Brian Armstrong (Coinbase): Wealth 11 billion USD, a slight rise of 2% this year.
• Changpeng Zhao (Binance): Wealth 50.9 billion USD, slight decrease of 5% this year.

Significant Shrinkers:

• Michael Saylor (Strategy): Wealth 4 billion USD, decreased by 37% within the year.
• Winklevoss Brothers (Gemini): Wealth 4.8 billion USD, year-to-date big dump 59%.

Disappointed Interpretation: Why Are Trading Platforms and “BitShares” Strategies Cooling Off?

In stark contrast to the glory of stablecoin giants are the severe challenges faced by trading platforms and early industry icons. The wealth of the Winklevoss twins suffered a crushing blow in 2025, shrinking by 59%. Their trading platform Gemini has seen its stock price drop by about 60% since its listing in September. The prospectus revealed that its business size is far smaller than its competitors and is reliant on personal loans from the brothers for support. This indicates that in the current environment where giants like Coinbase have established overwhelming advantages and regulatory costs are high, second-tier trading platforms lack a unique business moat, making it difficult for their growth narrative and valuation to gain market recognition.

Also in deep trouble are Michael Saylor and his Strategy Inc.. As the pioneer of the “corporate Bitcoin treasury” model, Saylor's wealth has declined by 37% this year. The problem is that this once-popular “infinite funding game” script has been widely imitated by many latecomers, leading to the constant erosion of Strategy's stock price premium (relative to the value of its Bitcoin assets). Its stock performance has even begun to lag behind Bitcoin itself. This marks a phase shift: the market is starting to more calmly assess the true value of such companies—if their core is merely holding assets, then their valuation ceiling is the assets themselves, and any “alpha” created through complex capital operations may be erased by time.

The wealth of other industry leaders has also stalled or slightly declined. Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong saw his wealth increase by only 2%, despite the company's diversification into stock trading, prediction markets, and successfully being included in the S&P 500 index, its stock price has remained almost stagnant throughout the year. Binance founder Zhao Changpeng experienced a slight dip of 5% in his wealth, despite receiving a presidential pardon on a personal level and planning to restart business in the U.S., but the global competition and compliance pressures faced by the company have not diminished at all. These cases point to a reality: the value of pure “trading channels” is diminishing, and the industry dividend is shifting towards more fundamental and indispensable infrastructure and services.

Behind Industry Differentiation: What Exactly Changed in 2025?

The “A Song of Ice and Fire” of crypto tycoons' wealth landscape in 2025 profoundly reflects the evolution of the industry's own development logic. Firstly, the defensibility of profit models has become the core metric for measuring value. The wealth of Allaire and Devasini comes from the stablecoin business, which creates a stable cash flow tied to trading volume, akin to a “franchise.” In contrast, the revenue of trading platforms is highly dependent on volatile market trading volumes, making them particularly vulnerable during bear markets. When “stories” give way to “financial statements,” businesses with solid cash flows naturally undergo reevaluation.

Secondly, regulation and compliance have shifted from resistance to a watershed moment. In 2025, the industry received key regulatory easing, such as presidential pardons and lawsuit settlements. However, this double-edged sword is more beneficial for those participants who have actively built compliance frameworks from the very beginning. Circle's USDC is known for its full reserves and transparent audits, while Galaxy Digital is a publicly listed company, making them better positioned to accept the compliant funds flowing in from the traditional world. In contrast, companies whose business models operate in gray areas or face pending lawsuits will not enjoy this wave of “compliance premium”.

Finally, the market shifted from “Beta-driven” to “Alpha competition”. During the industry's wilderness period, all participants rode the “Beta” express of Bitcoin's rise. However, when asset prices themselves entered a consolidation phase, competition transitioned into a brutal “Alpha” stage—where the real battles are over genuine user demand, operational efficiency, and business model innovation. Projects that can address real issues such as payment efficiency (stablecoin), asset custody (financial services), etc., stand out, while businesses with thin narratives and severe homogenization are abandoned by capital. Saylor's “BitShares” strategy has cooled, signaling that the market has grown weary of mere financial leverage games and is instead seeking substantive innovation.

Future Insights: Investment Clues in the Reshaped Wealth Landscape

The wealth redistribution among top billionaires provides clear clues for observing the future of the industry. For investors, the focus should perhaps shift from chasing the narrative of the next “pump token” to paying attention to the underlying protocols and infrastructure that build a sustainable economic closed loop. The stablecoin sector has proven that businesses capturing real and stable trading demand can maintain their value across bull and bear markets. The next area to watch may be core lending protocols in decentralized finance or fields with “toll road” attributes like the blockchain settlement layer.

At the same time, the intersection of traditional finance and encryption finance will become a fertile ground for value creation. The success of Galaxy Digital lies in serving corporate treasury, and Figure Technologies' successful listing as a blockchain lending platform indicates that “bridge” companies that can bring traditional assets on-chain or introduce encryption assets into the traditional world in a Compliance manner are facing historic opportunities. Traditional giants like JPMorgan exploring encryption trading further strengthens this trend.

Looking ahead to 2026, the “Matthew Effect” in the industry will only intensify. Giants with cash cow businesses (such as stablecoin issuers) will have ample ammunition for investments and acquisitions, further consolidating their ecological positions. On the other hand, companies that rely solely on capital operations or single trading businesses will find themselves in increasingly difficult situations if they cannot identify unique value anchor points. The fluctuations of the rich list are not just a topic of conversation over tea and meals, but rather an accurate ECG of the industry, showing that funds and trust are flowing towards those who are truly building the foundation of the crypto economy, rather than just speculating on its price. In this sense, the wealth differentiation of 2025 is a delayed but necessary rite of passage for the industry.