A cryptocurrency CEO has become one of the richest people on Earth. Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who runs the crypto exchange Binance, has became the world's top billionaires, with an estimated net worth of at least $96.5 billion.

Zhao's projected fortune now is just below that of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and surpasses that of Mukesh Ambani, the Indian tycoon.

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."