A cryptocurrency CEO has become one of the richest people on Earth, CNN reported.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who runs the crypto exchange Binance, has joined the ranks of the world's top billionaires, with an estimated net worth of at least $96.5 billion, according to new calculations from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Zhao's projected fortune now is just below that of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and surpasses that of Mukesh Ambani, the Indian tycoon whose fortune has also soared over the last two years.

The ascent of the Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur is emblematic of the rapid creation of wealth in the fast-moving world of digital currencies.

Last year, other crypto founders also enjoyed huge gains as the value of virtual coins rallied, with ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong both becoming billionaires.

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, another cryptocurrency exchange that has been backed by Binance, pointed Tuesday to an "unprecedented amount of wealth creation that has occurred in the industry over the last few years", CNN reported.

A Binance spokesperson told CNN Business that "CZ intends to give away most of his wealth, even 99 per cent of his wealth, just like other entrepreneurs and founders."

Zhao launched Binance in 2017, gradually building it into one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, the report said.

(IANS/JB)

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