Coinbase CEO falls from list of world’s richest as crypto slides
Bitcoin is also down by about half since early October
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[SAN FRANCISCO] Coinbase Global chief executive officer Brian Armstrong, whose fortune has dropped by more than half since July, is no longer among the world’s 500 richest people as crypto prices have tumbled.
Armstrong’s wealth has fallen by more than US$10 billion since peaking seven months ago at US$17.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The latest drop to Armstrong’s fortune came after JPMorgan Chase cut its price target for Coinbase by 27 per cent on Tuesday (Feb 10), citing “softness in crypto prices”, lower trading volumes and slow stablecoin growth.
The stock’s roller-coaster ride has mirrored Bitcoin’s volatility, with shares of the cryptocurrency trading platform down about 60 per cent from a Jul 18 high, including a 2.8 per cent drop on Tuesday. Bitcoin is also down by about half since early October, with prices whipsawing throughout this month.
The majority of Armstrong’s US$7.5 billion net worth is tied up in his 14 per cent stake in New York-based Coinbase, which the 43-year-old co-founded along with Fred Ehrsam in 2012. He’s a regular seller of the company’s stock and also owns part of NewLimit, a biotech startup focused on longevity that he co-founded and personally invested in, according to the wealth index.
Many other crypto billionaires have also fallen off Bloomberg’s list of the world’s 500 richest people as prices have tumbled.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each saw their net worths fall to US$1.9 billion from US$8.2 billion in October, according to the index. Their Gemini Space Station said last week that it will be cutting roughly 25 per cent of its workforce and winding down some of its international operations. The slump in Bitcoin’s price has also trimmed millions from their donation to a new political fundraising group.
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Galaxy Digital’s Michael Novogratz’s fortune fell to US$6.2 billion from a high of US$10.3 billion in October. As co-founder and CEO, Novogratz owns about 51 per cent of the New York-based crypto company. Galaxy posted a greater-than-expected loss of about US$500 million amid the fourth-quarter crypto crash, prompting Novogratz to acknowledge in a Bloomberg interview that “part of the ethos of this whole industry is pain”.
Strategy’s Michael Saylor also lost about two-thirds of his fortune since a July 2025 high and now stands at US$3.4 billion, according to the wealth index. The bulk of his wealth is tied to his 8 per cent stake in Strategy, which is one of the largest publicly traded owners of Bitcoin. BLOOMBERG
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