{{short description|Canadian entrepreneur|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox person | name = Anthony Di Iorio | image = | birth_place = 15th Feb 1975 [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada | alma_mater = [[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University)]] | known_for = Co-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 [[Cryptocurrency wallet|wallet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-21/ethereum-billionaire-looks-to-china-for-next-big-crypto-winners|title=Ethereum Billionaire Looks to China for Next Big Crypto Winners|last=Wong|first=Natalie|date=June 21, 2018|website=Bloomberg|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref> He also served as the first [[chief digital officer]] of the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/how-blockchain-technology-could-revolutionize-the-markets/article33759910/|title=How blockchain technology could revolutionize the markets|last=Daly|first=John|date=2017-02-01|work=Globe and Mail|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref> In February 2018, [[Forbes]] estimated his net worth at $750 million–$1 billion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-cryptocurrency-tycoon-buys-28-million-penthouse-in-former-trump/|title=Cryptocurrency tycoon buys $28-million penthouse in former Trump Toronto hotel|last1=Younglai|first1=Rachelle|date=June 20, 2018|work=Globe and Mail|access-date=2019-04-28|last2=Chambers|first2=Stephanie}}</ref>
== Early life == Di Iorio grew up with two older siblings in north [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-livin-large-with-canadas-crypto-king/|title=Livin' large with Canada's crypto king|last=Pachner|first=Joanna|date=November 27, 2018|work=Globe and Mail|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref> He graduated with a degree in marketing from [[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University)]].<ref name=":0" /> Di Iorio began developing websites during the early 1990s,<ref name="BusFin">{{Cite news|title=Meet the banker, venture capitalist and eight others changing the way we think and work|url=https://financialpost.com/features/fp-magazine-the-game-changers|access-date=2021-06-21|website=Financial Post|date=5 April 2017|language=en-CA}}</ref> and eventually entered the rental housing market as an investor and landlord in Toronto, Ontario. In 2012, he sold his rental properties to invest in Bitcoin, and began to organize companies in the field of cryptocurrency.<ref name="FinPost">{{Cite news|title=Vitalik Buterin: The cryptocurrency prophet|url=https://financialpost.com/feature/the-cryptocurrency-prophet|access-date=2021-06-21|website=Financial Post|date=27 June 2017|language=en-CA|last1=Brownell|first1=Claire}}</ref>
== Career == 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|Woodbridge]], [[Ontario]]. The family business was sold in 2008, and Di Iorio’s father supported him as he launched a short-lived [[Geothermal heat pump|geothermal drilling]] company.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
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.<ref name=":1" /> As the [[Meetup]]s grew from about eight attendees to hundreds, Di Iorio formed the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada.<ref name=":1" />
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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/10/kryptokit-lets-you-pay-in-bitcoin-instantly-on-almost-any-webpage/|title=KryptoKit Lets You Pay In Bitcoin Instantly On Almost Any Webpage|last=Biggs|first=John|date=2013-12-10|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref> KryptoKit was later joined by Buterin, Erik Voorhees, and [[Roger Ver]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Eha|first=Brian Patrick|date=2014-01-06|title=This Bitcoin Wallet Service Just Added 3 Major Players to its Roster|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230664|access-date=2019-04-28|website=Entrepreneur|language=en}}</ref> In 2014 Di Iorio co-founded the cryptocurrency platform Ethereum,<ref name="Beta">{{Cite web|date=2017-11-06|title=Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio says crypto wallets are the new browsers|url=https://betakit.com/ethereum-co-founder-anthony-di-iorio-says-crypto-wallets-are-the-new-browsers/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-21|website=BetaKit|language=en-CA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106173921/https://betakit.com/ethereum-co-founder-anthony-di-iorio-says-crypto-wallets-are-the-new-browsers/ |archive-date=2017-11-06 }}</ref> that has been valued at $7 billion<ref name=FinPost /> and had a market cap of $1.6 billion in 2017.<ref name=BusFin />
In 2021, he stated that he intended to leave the crypto market due to "safety concerns."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-07-16 |title=Ethereum Co-Founder Says Safety Concern Has Him Quitting Crypto |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-16/ethereum-co-founder-says-safety-concern-has-him-quitting-crypto |access-date=2022-08-20}}</ref>
== TSX, Jaxx, and boards== In January 2016, [[TMX Group]] hired Di Iorio as the first [[chief digital officer]] of the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]] (TSX).<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tmx-grp-tech-managementchanges-idUSKCN0W62HL|title=Canada's TSX hires Bitcoin guru, studies currency's technology|last=Lou|first=Ethan|date=2016-03-04|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-04-28|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tmx-grp-moves-idUSKBN13O04X|title=Bitcoin guru leaves Canada's TSX to focus on blockchain venture|date=2016-11-28|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-04-28|language=en}}</ref> Di Iorio is the founder and serves as CEO of Decentral Inc., the developer of Jaxx.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2018/06/15/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-ethereum-anthony-diiorio/|title=Dreaming of a Crypto Christmas With Ethereum Cofounder Anthony Di Iorio|last=Wieczner|first=Jen|date=2018-06-15|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/de-iorio-shrem-offer-token-rating-surgery-jaxx-unity-reward-coin-1628938|title = Di Iorio and Shrem to offer token rating service and Jaxx Unity reward coin|date = 4 July 2017}}</ref> In a series of articles published in February 2018, ''[[Forbes]]'' named Di Iorio among its list of the top-20 richest people in cryptocurrency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/richest-in-cryptocurrency/|title=The Richest People In Cryptocurrency|date=February 6, 2018|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Twitter|diiorioanthony}}
{{Ethereum}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Iorio, Anthony}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Toronto]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian businesspeople]] [[Category:Canadian chief executives]] [[Category:Toronto Metropolitan University alumni]] [[Category:Canadian billionaires]] [[Category:Canadian technology company founders]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:People associated with Ethereum]]