Forbes, a magazine made famous in part by its lists of rich people, has produced its first list of the richest people in cryptocurrencies. The magazine’s editor described the publication of such a list as a sort of rite of passage for the new investment vehicle with real-currency ambitions. The goal, said Randall Lane was to provide a snapshot of a pivotal moment, part of the transparency needed to pull crypto away from its provenance as the favorite currency of drug dealers and into the adolescence of a legitimate asset class.” One assumes, of course, that cryptocurrency traders and investors would welcome such a list, since it implies a stamp of approval by the magazine read by people with plenty of investment option.
Forbes admits in its opening article to the list that while working out the size of the fortunes of the super rich isn’t so tough, placing a dollar figure on cryptocurrency fortunes involves estimates and educated guesswork. In fact, the people making the list are listed in dollar ranges, rather than their specific net worth figures, because it’s simply not known how rich these people are. Still, if you don’t have $350m in Bitcoin, you won’t find yourself on the list.
The magazines admits that there are most likely some mistakes in this initial listing, but argues that “this was equally true when we launched the first Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans in 1982. At the time, many people said we couldn’t—or shouldn’t—publish. We did so anyway, firm in the belief that we made the world a better place by shining a light on the invisible rich. And we believe this report on crypto wealth accomplishes the same goal…”
The list was published February 6, but the figures quoted were based on prices from January 19. So what are the people in the list worth today? In the world of standard business moguls, two weeks isn’t such a long time. But as we’ve learned, in the cryptocurrency universe, 14 days can be an eternity.
