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Anthony Di Iorio

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Anthony Di Iorio
Born
15th Feb 1975 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
EducationRyerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University)
Known forCo-founder of Ethereum

Anthony Di Iorio is a Canadian entrepreneur primarily known as a co-founder of Ethereum and an early investor in Bitcoin. Di Iorio is the founder and CEO of the blockchain company Decentral, and the associated Jaxx wallet.[1] He also was the first chief digital officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange.[2] In February 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth at $750 million–$1 billion.[3]

Early life

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Anthony Di Iorio was born in north Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the youngest of three children.[4] He graduated with a marketing degree from Ryerson University (as of 2022, known as Toronto Metropolitan University).[3] Di Iorio developed some websites in the mid-1990s.[5] He would eventually enter the real estate field, investing in residential rentals and becoming a landlord in Toronto.

In 2012, he sold his rental properties to invest in Bitcoin, and began to form companies in the field of cryptocurrency.[6]

Career

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Di Iorio began his career working in marketing at a machine manufacturer before he went on to work for his family's patio-door-making business in Woodbridge, Ontario. The family business was sold in 2008, and Di Iorio’s father supported him as he launched a short-lived geothermal drilling company.[3][4]

He first learned about bitcoin from a podcast called Free Talk Live in 2012. According to The Globe and Mail, he "had an anti-authoritarian streak" and  questioned "the fundamentals of mainstream economics." Di Iorio bought his first bitcoin the same day for $9.73. He created the Toronto Bitcoin Meetup Group which held its first meeting at a pub in the same year.[4] As the Meetups grew from about eight attendees to hundreds, Di Iorio formed the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada.[4]

In 2013 Di Iorio founded a Bitcoin wallet Chrome extension called KryptoKit, with Steve Dakh, who created an app for web browsers that allows users to pay for products and services using the cryptocurrency wallet.[7] KryptoKit was later joined by Buterin, Erik Voorhees, and Roger Ver in 2014.[8] In 2014 Di Iorio co-founded the cryptocurrency platform Ethereum,[9] that has been valued at $7 billion[6] and had a market cap of $1.6 billion in 2017.[5]

In 2021, he stated that he intended to leave the crypto market due to "safety concerns."[10]

TSX, Jaxx, and boards

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In January 2016, TMX Group hired Di Iorio as the first chief digital officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).[2][11] In February 2016, Di Iorio announced the launch of Jaxx, a unified platform that provides wallet services for both Bitcoin and Ethereum. He left his position at TSX to focus on Jaxx.[12] Di Iorio is the founder and CEO of Decentral Inc, the developer of Jaxx.[4][13]

Di Iorio has been involved in the development of a rating system for initial coin offerings and attempting to unite various cryptocurrencies into one financial ecosystem.[14] In a series of articles published in February 2018, Forbes named Di Iorio among its list of the top-20 richest people in cryptocurrency.[15]

References

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  1. ↑ Wong, Natalie (June 21, 2018). "Ethereum Billionaire Looks to China for Next Big Crypto Winners". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  2. 1 2 Daly, John (2017-02-01). "How blockchain technology could revolutionize the markets". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  3. 1 2 3 Younglai, Rachelle; Chambers, Stephanie (June 20, 2018). "Cryptocurrency tycoon buys $28-million penthouse in former Trump Toronto hotel". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Pachner, Joanna (November 27, 2018). "Livin' large with Canada's crypto king". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  5. 1 2 "Meet the banker, venture capitalist and eight others changing the way we think and work". Financial Post. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 2026-06-29.
  6. 1 2 Brownell, Claire (27 June 2017). "Vitalik Buterin: The cryptocurrency prophet". Financial Post. Retrieved 2026-06-29.
  7. ↑ Biggs, John (2013-12-10). "KryptoKit Lets You Pay In Bitcoin Instantly On Almost Any Webpage". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  8. ↑ Eha, Brian Patrick (2014-01-06). "This Bitcoin Wallet Service Just Added 3 Major Players to its Roster". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  9. ↑ "Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio says crypto wallets are the new browsers". BetaKit. 2017-11-06. Archived from the original on 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  10. ↑ "Ethereum Co-Founder Says Safety Concern Has Him Quitting Crypto". Bloomberg.com. 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  11. ↑ Lou, Ethan (2016-03-04). "Canada's TSX hires Bitcoin guru, studies currency's technology". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  12. ↑ "Bitcoin guru leaves Canada's TSX to focus on blockchain venture". Reuters. 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  13. ↑ Wieczner, Jen (2018-06-15). "Dreaming of a Crypto Christmas With Ethereum Cofounder Anthony Di Iorio". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  14. ↑ "Di Iorio and Shrem to offer token rating service and Jaxx Unity reward coin". 4 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "The Richest People In Cryptocurrency". Forbes. February 6, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
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