Erik Voorhees is a massive figure in the world of cryptocurrency. He has been around since the birth of Bitcoin and has made a huge impact on the industry. This article looks at Voorhees’ net worth and how he made his millions through crypto.
SatoshiDice Gets the Ball Rolling
Voorhees’ real crypto breakthrough came when he founded SatoshiDice in 2012. The Bitcoin game differs from traditional online games, as players can play SatoshiDice without access to the website or client software. This was Vorhees’ first introduction to the gambling market. SatoshiDice takes its name from the pseudonym of the person credited with creating Bitcoin, so it’s an apt moniker for a cryptocurrency gambling platform. Services like this paved the way for similar sites accepting a range of different cryptocurrencies. Now it’s possible to play at USDT casinos, for example, which host a wealth of options for anyone looking to play slots, bingo, lottery games and more with this blockchain-based currency.
It was certainly a unique concept for a business and attracted a new fanbase of bitcoiners. But Voorhees reluctantly decided to sell the company a year after SatoshiDice’s inception. He sold it for 126,315 bitcoins, roughly the equivalent of $11.5 million. That would be worth something like $5.25 billion today, which shows how far Bitcoin has come in the last ten years.
"money is fundamental to our human existence. We should care about its quality and who controls it."
— Nelson (@Nelson_Dapfy) December 12, 2023
– @ErikVoorhees#FixthemoneyFixtheworld#MultiversX
GM☀️☕ pic.twitter.com/WUgUQIZYtE
How Much Has Voorhees Made Through Crypto?
Nowadays, Voorhees is the CEO of ShapeShift.io, which he founded in Switzerland in 2014. The company is a cryptocurrency exchange, which allows its users to exchange cryptocurrencies with ease.
Voorhees has been in the Bitcoin market for well over a decade, and he has generated a gigantic sum of money in the industry over the years. As of 2023, there isn’t a definitive number for Voorhees’ net worth as a significant portion of his wealth is tied up in cryptocurrencies and other private investments. Online sources vary from $5 million to a few hundred million.
It’s unlikely that he never sold any of the bitcoin he received from the sale of SatoshiDice, so his net worth probably isn’t in the billions. However, considering his continued involvement in crypto and massive price increases since SatoshiDice, his real net worth likely sits among the higher estimates.
Voorhees is a vocal figure for cryptocurrencies, and he believes the industry can reform the financial system in the future. He wants to create a world where anyone can access finances without permission. The American startup founder has been around since the early days of Bitcoin and is showing no signs of going away.
History assures us of their inevitable return, but their journey back is a long and uncertain trek. #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/b8496THhaG
— Bitcoin (@Bitcoin) December 13, 2023
Looking Back at His Early Life & Career
Voorhees is originally from Colorado but later moved around to places like Dubai, Panama, New York, and New Hampshire. He was destined for greatness when studying computer science at the University of New Mexico but dropped out to take up a career in entrepreneurship. A year later, he founded BitInstant.
BitInstant ran into some issues and had to shut down in 2013, but Voorhees was back on the horse with ShapeShift in 2014. ShapeShift has become one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, processing over $1 billion in transactions and attracting over a million users worldwide.
ShapeShift continues to grow, and 2022 was another productive year for the company. It opened a new open-source mobile app, which has enhanced the user experience tenfold.
Voorhees continues to make strides in the cryptocurrency industry. He has been a huge advocate for crypto over the last ten years and strongly believes that Bitcoin will be revolutionary in the money industry for years to come.
