3.1.1. First Generation: Bitcoin Millionaires (2009 to 2018)
Bitcoin Millionaires are the First Generation of millionaires in the cryptocurrency industry of the 4th Industrial Age. These millionaires are the ones who bought Bitcoins when the price was just pennies, cents or few dollars.
Those who saw the power of the digital money and decided to hold onto their Bitcoins and Ethereum ended up reaping massively when the prices of these cryptos surged to above 10 000 dollars in the late 2017 and early 2018. These are people who bought cryptos during the denial and adoptive phases.
These first-generation crypto millionaires include Satoshi Nakamoto, Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Roger Ver, and a host of others.
3.1.2. Second Generation: DeFi Millionaires (2018 to 2021)
The introduction of smart contracts into blockchains in 2018 saw the birth of decentralised finance (DeFi) in the crypto industry. Those who jumped in and invested in DeFi projects at its inception amassed stupendous wealth. They are the second generation of crypto millionaires.
These include Robert Leshner, founder of Compound protocol, Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, one of the most widely used decentralized applications built on the Ethereum smartchain ecosystem, and Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave protocol.
DeFi is still sweeping across the Crypto Market and holds the promise of a new standard of financial system in the world. DeFi is just at its infancy, and many more millionaires will be born as the industry grows and matures.
What DeFi is and how you can invest in it to reap good financial fortunes have been discussed in the Tertiary School of Cryptocurrencies.
3.1.3. Third Generation: NFT Millionaires (2021 to ongoing)
The interesting thing is that the Crypto Market is still evolving, and further advancements are rapidly being added to the digital innovation. One of such innovations is the digitalisation and tokenisation of arts and craft works, known as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT).
From 2021, NFTs have taken off in a huge manner in the cryptocurrency world. Today, many songs, movies, sculptures, speeches, and indeed any human activity of note can be tokenised and digitalised to give them monetary value.
Imagine if you are in the music industry and are able to not only market your songs globally but will also be able to completely prevent piracy of your work! Imagine how much money you will make for doing that!
For instance, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, sold his first tweet as an NFT for over 2.9 million dollars on 22nd March 2021 when bidding ended on the “Valuables” platform, which is run by Cent, a blockchain-powered social media network.
If you don’t understand, this is what it means: Mr. Dorsey posted a simple statement to announce the birth of his company Twitter, a social media communication platform, on 26th March 2006. That statement says, “just setting up my twttr.”
With the rise of NFTs in the Crypto Market, Jack has suddenly found a way to monetarise his tweet. It was that tweet that he sold as an NFT for 2.9 million dollars in March 2021, exactly 15 years after the statement was first made!
How was Dorsey able to tap into the power of the crypto space? The answer was that he was not a sceptic, rather, he did a wise thing by getting acquainted with the development around him when many other people were either fearful, doubtful, or completely ignorant of the unfolding development that will change the way we see and use money!
Indeed, Dorsey has long been a supporter of the crypto space – in February 2021, his financial services company, Square, bought an additional 170 million dollar-worth of bitcoin, and Dorsey has consistently been an advocate for bitcoin for some years.
The ease and speed with which a mere statement made by Dorsey can be converted into huge monetary value is an example of the power of financial fortunes that comes with our emerging Digital Age.