AN American crypto tycoon has pledged to empty his pockets for a good cause.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of massive cryptocurrency exchange FTX, earlier this year promised to give away his $20billion fortune.
In June, the 30-year-old signed the Giving Pledge, a public commitment taken by the world’s richest people to hand over the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.
The foundation was set up in 2010 and its 230-odd signatories include Warren Buffet, Elon Musk and Bill and Melinda Gates.
Most of Bankman Fried’s wealth comes from his prominent cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.
It’s a platform through which traders can buy and sell the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other popular digital currencies.
Back in January, FTX secured a $400million funding round, taking the organisation’s value to $32billion.
By billionaire standards, Bankman Fried – who is based in the Bahamas – is a fairly modest character.
He is often photographed in shorts and a T-shirt and reportedly drives a Toyota Corolla – a hatchback that costs about £24,000.
He told Bloomberg: “You pretty quickly run out of really effective ways to make yourself happier by spending money.”
The billionaire added: “I don’t want a yacht.”
He’s one of many prominent traders weathering the storm of the latest crypto crash.
In November 2021, the crypto market peaked in value, with one Bitcoin worth around £50,000.
Since then, the market has plummeted, with Bitcoin now worth 60 per cent less at roughly £20,000.
Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether and even stocks relating to crypto such as Coinbase Global have also collapsed.
Due to this drop in digital currency valuations, several crypto billionaires’ wallets have faced jaw-dropping losses in the billions.
In fact, three of the ten wealthiest crypto billionaires are worth 50 percent less than they were in early November — including Tim Draper, Matthew Roszak, and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.
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