Key Takeaways
- Cryptocurrencies used to be laughed at, but some smart people invested early and got very rich.
- Many young millionaires and billionaires have become rich through crypto, showing that a younger generation leads the future of finance.
- Cryptocurrencies are becoming more valuable and changing how we see money. Many people are investing in them, and their prices are rising.
Many years ago, business leaders and financial experts often laughed at cryptocurrencies. However, a few smart people saw their potential and invested early, making them very wealthy.
2017 was a big year for crypto. Bitcoin’s price went way up, reaching almost $20,000. This made many people interested in other cryptocurrencies and new blockchain projects. Today, cryptocurrency is a big part of the global economy.
Here’s a list of some of the famous crypto billionaires under 40, with ages and net worth estimates as of October 2026:
Ben Francis
Ben Francis, the founder of Gymshark, is one of the UK’s youngest billionaires, mostly because of his achievements in the sportswear industry.
He started Gymshark in 2012 from his parent’s home with a sewing machine and a website. Since then, he’s turned it into a global brand by working with fitness influencers and creating high-quality, stylish activewear.
Francis made his fortune from sportswear, not crypto. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.2 billion in October 2026, when he was 34.
Brendan Blumer (now 40)
Brendan started his career by selling virtual items in the online game World of Warcraft. He was so successful that his company, Gamecliff, was bought by another company called IGE. Later, he founded a company that sold virtual avatars in online games. This business made over a million dollars a month!
Blumer turned 40 on August 8, 2026, so he no longer fits the under-40 cut. He is CEO and sole owner of Block.one and co-founded the crypto exchange Bullish, which went public in New York in August 2025. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.4 billion in October 2026.
Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, made most of his money through virtual reality. He sold Oculus to Facebook (now Meta) in 2014 for around $2 billion. After that, he focused on defense technology and started Anduril Industries in 2017, a company that works on AI, robotics, and defense tools.
Forbes lists virtual reality and defense technology as the sources of his $6 billion fortune (October 2026 estimate); he is 34. His crypto connection is Erebor, a crypto- and defense-focused bank he founded, which became a US national bank in February 2026 and plans to offer dollar stablecoin payments.
Ryan Breslow (no longer a billionaire)
Ryan Breslow co-founded the payment company Bolt in 2014 to improve online shopping. Bolt’s big idea was to make it easy to buy things with just one click on many different websites, competing with companies like PayPal and Stripe.
This success made Breslow famous in the fintech world. Besides his work with Bolt, Breslow has gained attention for his strong opinions on cryptocurrency. In 2021, he made news by sharing that he had invested a lot in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital coins, making him influential in the crypto industry.
Breslow, now 32, is no longer a billionaire. A share buyback in January 2024 valued Bolt at about $300 million, down from $11 billion in 2022. At that price, Forbes estimated his roughly 22% stake at about $60 million. He returned as Bolt’s CEO in March 2025 and announced a new app that includes crypto.
Nikil Viswanathan
Nikil Viswanathan is an American entrepreneur. He started a company called Alchemy, which uses blockchain technology. Big companies like Stanford University and Google support Alchemy.
Before that, Viswanathan made a popular app called Down To Lunch. It helped people connect with friends on their iPhones. He also made a website that automatically checked people into Southwest Airlines flights.
Viswanathan and his friend Joseph Lau created Down To Lunch because they missed their friends after moving to San Francisco. They wanted an easy way to plan hangouts, so they made a simple app to invite people. Forbes lists his age as 38, and its most recent estimate, from April 2025, put his net worth at $1.5 billion.
Justin Sun
Justin Sun, 36, launched the Tron blockchain in 2017 and also built his fortune on the HTX and Poloniex exchanges and BitTorrent. Forbes estimated his net worth at $8.5 billion in October 2026. In March 2026, the SEC moved to drop its 2023 lawsuit against him over the TRX and BTT tokens, with a BitTorrent company paying a $10 million fine.
Shayne Coplan
Shayne Coplan, 28, founded and runs Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market where users trade on the outcomes of real-world events. He became a billionaire in October 2025, when NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange agreed to invest up to $2 billion in the company. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1 billion in October 2026.
Lessons From Young Crypto Billionaires
Cryptocurrencies used to be laughed at, but now they’re becoming more valuable. Many young people are investing in them because they see the potential to change how we use money. Some young people have even become very rich from crypto. Justin Sun and Shayne Coplan are two examples. It’s important to be careful. The market can change quickly, so it’s still best to research before investing.
Check out these related articles.
