Balaji Srinivasan Net Worth, Crypto and NFT Investments

Balaji Srinivasan is widely regarded as a tech entrepreneur and investor. He founded various technology firms including Counsyl. The net worth of Balaji Srinivasan is estimated to be around $200 million. In 2013, MIT Technology Review listed him in its “Innovators Under 35.”

It is worth mentioning that the net worth of Balaji Srinivasan is mostly in Bitcoin. Through his publications, Balaji Srinivasan mostly advocates for the adoption of Bitcoin. He was able to push for the adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency during his time as the Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase. 

Since he left the position, Balaji Srinivasan has put his advocacy into writing. He reportedly earned about $150 million in compensation following his exit from Coinbase. To some extent, the net worth of Balaji Srinivasan gained more push with the compensation. In April 2021, during the resurgence of Covid-19 in India, Balaji Srinivasan donated $50,000 in cryptocurrency to provide support for Indians affected by the outbreak.

Balaji Srinivasan’s Net Worth

Early Life

Balaji Srinivasan was born on May 24, 1980. He grew up in Long Island, Plainview, New York. In 1997, Balaji Srinivasan studied Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. According to findings, he completed his Bachelor’s program at Stanford in 2001. A year later, he bagged his MS in Electrical Engineering before earning another MS in Chemical Engineering two years later. Thereafter, he obtained his Ph.D. from the same University in 2006.

After completing his program at Stanford University, Balaji Srinivasan co-founded Counsyl, a genetic testing company in 2007. He founded the company alongside Eric Evans, Ramji Srinivasan, and Rishi Kacker. Counsyl was a health technological firm which provides DNA screening tests for families. With the firm, Balaji Srinivasan focused on making DNA screening more accessible to families.

While at Counsyl, he won the Wall Street Journal Innovation Award for Medicine. MIT Technology Review listed Balaji Srinivasan in its “Innovators Under 35” in 2013. In 2018, Balaji Srinivasan alongside his partners sold the firm to Myriad Genetics for $375 million. Selling the firm to a reasonable extent, soared the net worth of Balaji Srinivasan. So far, the firm has carried out a DNA test for more than 500,000 patients across the globe.

However, prior to the acquisition of Counsyl, Balaji Srinivasan joined Andreessen as a general partner in 2013. The move came six (6) years after the establishment of the firm. As a venture capital firm, Andreessen focused on investing in early-stage start-ups and established growth companies. Over the years, the firm invested in various companies that cut across sectors like healthcare, cryptocurrency, gaming, fintech, education, and enterprise IT.

During the launch of the firm, it had an initial market capitalization of $300 million. A year after Balaji Srinivasan joined the firm, it already had $4 billion of user assets under its management. This was shortly after the firm closed its fourth fund at $1.5 billion. Other general partners of the firm are John O’Farrell, Scott Weiss, Jeff Jordan, Peter Levine, Chris Dixon, Vijay Pande, Martin Casado, and Sriram Krishnan.

2013 was a fruitful year for Balaji Srinivasan. He founded 21 Inc which later became Earn.com. Initially, Balaji Srinivasan launched the firm as a Bitcoin mining startup. Unfortunately, the firm failed to remain in its Bitcoin mining business despite raising more than $120 million from investors. This failure compelled Balaji Srinivasan to consider a new business for the firm.

Later, the firm transited to Earn.com with a focus on allowing users to hire and pay people in virtual currency to reply to emails. Meanwhile, as a versatile entrepreneur, Balaji Srinivasan co-founded Teleport in 2014 while working on Earn.com. He sold Teleport to Topia in 2017. A year later, Coinbase acquired Earn.com and Balaji Srinivasan became the Chief Technology Officer of the cryptocurrency exchange.

Coinbase

In 2018, Balaji Srinivasan became the Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase following the acquisition of the Earn platform. Though, the two firms didn’t reveal the financial commitment of the deal. Meanwhile, numerous reports indicated that the deal was estimated to be around $100 million.

In a statement, the CEO and Co-Founder of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong provided insights into the roles of Balaji Srinivasan as the Chief Technology Officer of the cryptocurrency exchange. Armstrong referred to Balaji Srinivasan as the technological evangelist of the firm. He revealed that Srinivasan was expected to project the global adoption of cryptocurrency and Coinbase as the CTO. 

Then, he focused on pushing the adoption of cryptocurrency by educating people about the innovation. Also, Balaji Srinivasan worked on recruiting the best talents to the firm with the intention of keeping up with the growing competition in the crypto space. Additionally, the CTO oversaw the full transition of Earn.com to Coinbase Earn.

The firm was incorporated into the cryptocurrency exchange to incentivize users for their commitment. The Coinbase Earn served as an educational platform about Coinbase where users earn altcoins for watching videos and answering Trivia questions about the exchange. Before the takeover, Balaji Srinivasan had the intention of launching a private token for the platform. He planned to structure the token to work as a means of rewarding users for their participation on the platform. 

As the Chief Technology Officer, Balaji Srinivasan focused on growing Coinbase Earn. During this period, he ensured the growth and expansion of the product into 100 countries. Through the Coinbase Earn, the crypto exchange was able to build a good relationship with users, while onboarding new ones. Consequently, he remitted deals worth more than $300 million for the product. This included a financial commitment of more than $120 million from the Stellar Foundation. The actualization of the deal was made possible with the assistance of Zach Segal, Max Branzburg, and Dave Bean.

Balaji Srinivasan with the support of Sam Mclngvale and Juan Suarez scouted secured deals worth over $1.5 billion for the crypto exchange. Balaji Srinivasan prepared and presented the speech during the Coinbase Series E funding round. The funding round fetched Coinbase about $300 million. Similarly, he played an active role in the development of various products on the platform.

Additionally, his stint as the CTO of Coinbase cannot be duly talked about without mentioning his efforts toward the launching of the USDC stablecoin. Balaji Srinivasan played an important role in the launching of the USDC stablecoin. He oversaw the business and technical preparation that led to the launching of the second-largest stablecoin by market cap. He enjoyed the support of Jim Migdal, Jacob Horne, Miha Rebernik, Maksim Stepanenko, and the entire Circle team for the launching of the project.

In less than a year after the acquisition, Coinbase closed the platform citing the need to focus on other projects. Around December 2019, the exchange notified the development to users giving them a two-month notice to withdraw their funds. Owing to that, Balaji Srinivasan left his role as the CTO of the organization. He reportedly earned over $150 million in Coinbase stock as compensation after he exited the cryptocurrency exchange.

The Network State

Since Balaji Srinivasan left Coinbase in late 2019, he focused on pushing his self-published “The Network State: How To Start a New Country.” He made the publication in July 2022, which focused on a governance model driven by digital technology. The publication explains the ideology of a “network state.” He stressed how virtual communities can crowd-fund resources to establish autonomous cities and states. Balaji Srinivasan believes that the network state will succeed the present nation-state.

The publication is heavily themed on decentralization and the internet. Balaji Srinivasan took inspiration from the work of popular economist Albert I. Hirschman. In the book, he opined that the world needs a new system of government. The former CTO explained how technology can restructure power and governance systems. He opined that the Network state can offer advanced services and representation to citizens with the aid of technology. Srinivasan referred to those who will contribute to the success of the network state as Citizen-subscribers. He added that these individuals would connect on the internet, gather assets in the real world, gather their lands, and negotiate for proper recognition as a discontiguous independent nation.

In the book, he addressed how individuals who share similar views can leverage advancing technology such as the internet and cryptocurrency. Also, he proposed building online communities first and then aiding them to materialize in the real world. Balaji Srinivasan described this ideology as “cloud first” and “land last.” Also, in the book, Balaji Srinivasan noted that intellectual individuals can create discontinuous outposts merged into a “network archipelago” based on mixed reality.

The book generated a host of controversies as well as endorsement. Notable tech-oriented individuals have voiced their support for the publication. On the other end, critics faulted the submissions therein, stating that it suffers from a technologist’s blind spot. They criticized Balaji Srinivasan for failing to draw a distinctive line between those who care about what’s true and what is popular. Critics argued that he underemphasized the difference between the two.

Controversy

On various occasions, Balaji Srinivasan attracted unwanted attention due to some of his controversial opinions. In 2013, during a Y Combinator startup school-themed “Silicon Valley’s Ultimate Exit,” Balaji Srinivasan urged technological firms to leave the United States. He made this opinion known through various mediums including a book; “Software Is Reorganizing the World” that he published.

Balaji Srinivasan explains why these firms must virtually leave the United States for a better atmosphere abroad. His reasons divided various media organizations as some supported his submission while others opposed it. In 2022, he further strengthened the advocacy by publishing The Network State. The publication addressed online nationality and the breakaway from geographical governments.

Another controversial moment witnessed by Balaji Srinivasan was in 2017 when Donald Trump considered him as the Commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration. Prior to the consideration, Balaji Srinivasan had been a critic of the FDA. When news about his appointment surfaced, Balaji Srinivasan deleted all of the tweets where he criticized the FDA. Eventually, the Donald Trump administration did not appoint Balaji Srinivasan for the role.

In July 2020, he attracted another media attention when he criticized Taylor Lorenz for reporting the CEO of Away on Twitter over alleged misbehavior. Balaji Srinivasan referred to Taylor Lorenz as a sociopath.

Is Balaji Srinivasan Pro Crypto?

Balaji Srinivasan has never hidden his admiration for cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin. He is one of those influential figures who had been supporting Bitcoin since its early days. According to our findings, Srinivasan’s first exposure to Bitcoin could be traced to 2011. At that time, he was a lecturer at Stanford University, teaching blockchain-oriented courses to enthusiastic students. His job at the University mandated him to make extensive research on blockchain use cases and potential in a bid to successfully impact the students. The research adventure facilitated his exposure to Bitcoin as a blockchain-based digital asset. Srinivasan began to pick interest in the innovation, studying its whitepaper, popularly referred to as the Bitcoin document. Srinivasan’s exposure to this document formed the basis of his knowledge of encryption. Consequently, he was convinced about the potential of Bitcoin and resolved to pick interest in it.

Ever since, Srinivasan has contributed overwhelmingly to the development of Bitcoin and its underlying technology, blockchain. Over the years, he wrote numerous journals and articles about Bitcoin and other crypto assets. Those articles were geared towards enlightening people about the rudiments and prospects of these innovations. It is worth mentioning that his focus is to enhance the widespread adoption of crypto and blockchain. At a time, he encouraged those willing to deal with money to try blockchain-based products. According to him; “if you deal with information, you need the Internet. If you deal with money, you need to deal with blockchains.”

Driven by his passion for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at large, Srinivasan participated in the establishment of a Bitcoin interest group. The group came into existence to foster the advancement of the Bitcoin ecosystem and ensuring its mainstream popularity. Through the interest group, Srinivasan advocated better regulatory enablement for the crypto industry to thrive. He strongly believes that the opportunities enveloped in the sector is beyond just investing in Bitcoin or Ethereum. The former Coinbase CTO, at a time, likened the evolution of crypto to the early days of mobile, expressing his confidence in the capacity of the assets to disrupt the existing traditional banking system and change the world.

Balaji Srinivasan is bullish about Bitcoin and its broadened features. He sees Bitcoin as a hedge against hyperinflation and the best bet for those aiming to safeguard their wealth from debasement.

Bitcoin is not for making money.
Bitcoin is for saving money.
It is not an inflation hedge.
It is a hyperinflation hedge.
The world once ran on gold.
It will soon run once again on digital gold. https://t.co/vDpQM2bA0V

— Balaji (@balajis) March 19, 2023

At a time, he said; “we think of bitcoin as mobile. It’s not one company; it’s broad,” urging potential investors to research more about the opportunities dwelling in the innovation.

Srinivasan further deepened his presence in the industry by founding a Bitcoin mining firm, 21Inc which was later rebranded to Earn. The firm was later purchased by Coinbase in 2017 in an $100 million deal. The deal also fostered the emergence of Srinivasan as the first CTO of the crypto exchange. It is worth noting that the deal led to the rebranding of Earn into Coinbase Earn. While at Coinbase, he leveraged his position to enhance crypto education and facilitate recruitment of talents into the exchange. Also, Srinivasan has also invested in numerous crypto and NFT projects, including Opensea, Avalanche, Near protocol and many more.

His confidence in Bitcoin encouraged him to enter into a $1 million USDC stablecoin bet with a notable crypto critic, James Medlock. The bet which was initiated in March 2023 stipulated that Medlock would receive $1 million USDC coin and 1 BTC if BTC fail to attain a $1 million value by June 17. It is worth mentioning that Srinivasan banked on the collapse of banking heavyweights like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S. to make the stake. He was confident that the banking crisis would plunge the U.S. economy into bankruptcy, thereby spiking the value of Bitcoin. If this prediction manifest, Srinivasan agreed with Medlock to keep the $1 million USDC and 1 BTC. At the time the bet happened, the token traded for around $28,000.

Srinivasan’s Bitcoin bet was greeted with numerous criticisms, particularly by those who believe it was a marketing strategy or a pump-and-dump scheme. A notable crypto critic, Molly White alleged that Srinivasan and other venture capitalists in the industry are leveraging the crisis in the traditional banking system for their selfish interest. Later, Srinivasan clarified that he never proposed the bet but only accepted it. He further described the bet as a “Simon-Erlich” style bet, stressing that it was based on ideology and not a money-making bet.

In May, it dawned on Srinivasan that his prediction may not materialize, thereby compelling him to settle the bet by mutual agreement. The settlement saw Medlock receiving $500,000 from the funds. The former Coinbase CTO also gave $500,000 each to developers of Bitcoin Core and Give Directly Charity. Despite the loss, Srinivasan is still optimistic and has remained committed to his stance about Bitcoin.

I JUST BURNED A MILLION TO TELL YOU THEY'RE PRINTING TRILLIONS

The million dollar bet is now closed out by mutual agreement. I made $1M+ in provable on-chain donations, which you can verify by clicking the links below:

1) $500k to Bitcoin Core development via Chaincode:… pic.twitter.com/J9nwxZAAhD

— Balaji (@balajis) May 2, 2023

Crypto and NFT Holdings of Balaji Srinivasan

Ethereum, Polygon and a few other crypto assets in his personal portfolio. Srinivasan has never spoken publicly about his personal crypto portfolio, thus making it difficult to affirm its exact value or worth. But, it is not in doubt that the millionaire investor holds an appreciable amount of crypto assets.

According to credible sources, Bitcoin, being his favourite crypto asset constitutes a significant portion of his holdings. Srinivasan can be regarded as an early investor in Bitcoin having picked up interest in the token over a decade ago. At that time, Bitcoin traded below $50. Certainly, his personal investment in the token must have yielded huge dividends. Within a few years, the token spiked to thousands of dollars, translating into huge gains for its early investors, including Srinivasan. By virtue of this development, we can say that BTC investment contributed to the current net worth of Balaji Srinivasan. If the former Coinbase CTO does not sell out his holdings as promised, he will likely join the list of famous Bitcoin investors soon.

Recall that amid the controversies that greeted his $1 million bet, Srinivasan further went on to pledge loyalty to Bitcoin. He vowed not to sell his Bitcoin holdings unless he is legally compelled to do so. Balaji Srinivasan said, “I am holding Bitcoin until the US dollar is no longer the reserve currency of the world, again unless legally compelled to do otherwise.”

Apart from crypto, the former CTO has also invested in numerous NFT projects. Although sources claim he holds NFTs in his personal portfolio, Srinivasan is yet to confirm that. However, it is not in doubt that he is bullish about the digital collectibles. He believes “NFTs as a class are too broad to value,” and advised anyone developing an NFT collection to understand the history of the Freemasons. According to him, many of the Freemason’s “rituals could be usefully updated for the digital era. With modern technology, could feel like real magic.”

Over the years, Srinivasan also built his reputation as a consistent angel investor in the industry. According to our findings, he has actively invested in various crypto projects like Alchemy, Ava Labs, Bitcoin, Cameo, Chainlink, Dapper Labs, Deel, EPNS, Ethereum,, NEAR Protocol, OnDeck, Opensea, Roam Research, Solana, Synthesis, XMTP, and Zora. It is not in doubt these laudable investments impacted the net worth of Balaji Srinivasan.

Balaji Srinivasan’s Net Worth – Our Verdict

Balaji Srinivasan has been able to grow his net worth by investing in numerous tech and crypto projects. Over the years, he participated as an angel investor in projects like Alchemy, Solana, Near, Opensea, Dapper Labs, Zora and many more. Today, he is one of the top voices in the industry, leveraging his influence to promote crypto and blockchain education. While he served as a lecturer at Standford University, Srinivasan taught blockchain-based courses and wrote numerous articles about the potential of the innovation.

The former CTO is also popular for his January 2020 prediction about the potential severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a Twitter thread, Srinivasan predicted that the pandemic would cause border closures, social isolation, use of face masks, distrust in government, and many more. As the virus spread, with many of his predictions taking shape, he gained the respect and support of the community. In late 2020, Srinivasan was named “The man who called COVID” by a popular media outlet.

Many believed the March 2023 $1 million Bitcoin bet by Balaji Srinivasan would have impacted his net worth. Recall that he entered the bet with Medlock with the belief that Bitcoin would attain a $1 million value in June. In May, Srinivasan discovered that his prediction won’t come to fruition and thus decided to go for a settlement with Medlock. The development made Medlock to earn $500,000, with the remainder of the funds going to Give Direct Charity.

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