Anthony Di Iorio is a Canadian entrepreneur primarily known as a co-founder of

Ethereum Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether (Abbreviation: ETH; sign: Ξ) is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capita ...

and an early investor in

Bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...

. Di Iorio is the founder and CEO of the

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a ...

company Decentral, and the associated Jaxx

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch often used to carry small personal items such as paper currency, credit cards; identification documents such as driver's license, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, business cards and oth ...

. He also served as the first

chief digital officer A chief digital officer (CDO) or a chief digital information officer (CDIO) is an individual who helps a company, a government organization or a city drive growth by converting traditional "analog" businesses to digital ones using the potential of ...

of the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...

. In February 2018,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

estimated his net worth at $750 million–$1 billion.

Early life

Di Iorio grew up with two older siblings in north

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He graduated with a degree in marketing from

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

. Di Iorio began developing websites during the early 1990s, and eventually entered the rental housing market as an investor and landlord in Toronto, Ontario. In 2012 he sold his rental properties in order to invest in Bitcoin, and began to organize companies in the field of cryptocurrency.

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 Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

. The family business was sold in 2008, and Di Iorio’s father supported him as he launched a short-lived

geothermal drilling A ground source heat pump (also geothermal heat pump) is a heating/cooling system for buildings that uses a type of heat pump to transfer heat to or from the ground, taking advantage of the relative constancy of temperatures of the earth through ...

company. He first learned about

bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...

from a podcast called ''Free Talk Live'' in 2012. According to ''The Globe and Mail'', he "had an

anti-authoritarian Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" an ...

streak" and questioned "the fundamentals of

mainstream economics Mainstream economics is the body of knowledge, theories, and models of economics, as taught by universities worldwide, that are generally accepted by economists as a basis for discussion. Also known as orthodox economics, it can be contrasted to h ...

." 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. As the

Meetup Meetup is a social media platform for hosting and organizing in-person and virtual activities, gatherings, and events for people and communities of similar interests, hobbies, and professions. It was founded in 2002 by Scott Heiferman and four ot ...

s grew from about eight attendees to hundreds, Di Iorio formed the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada. In 2013 Di Iorio founded a Bitcoin wallet Chrome extension called KryptoKit, with Steve Dakh, that created an app for

web browsers A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a User (computing), user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its Computer file, files from a web server and then displays the page on the user' ...

that allows users to pay for products and services using the

cryptocurrency wallet A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program or a service which stores the public and/or private keys for cryptocurrency transactions. In addition to this basic function of storing the keys, a cryptocurrency wallet more often a ...

. KryptoKit was later joined by Buterin, Erik Voorhees, and

Roger Ver Roger Keith Ver (born 27 January 1979) is an early investor in Bitcoin, Bitcoin-related startups and an early promoter of Bitcoin. Ver has sometimes been referred to as "Bitcoin Jesus". He now primarily promotes Bitcoin Cash as Ver sees it as fu ...

in 2014. In 2014 Di Iorio co-founded the cryptocurrency platform Ethereum, that has been valued at $7 billion and had a market cap of $1.6 billion in 2017. In 2021, he stated that he intended to leave the crypto market due to "safety concerns."

TSX, Jaxx, and boards

In January 2016,

TMX Group TMX Group Limited is a Canadian financial services company that operates equities, fixed income, derivatives, and energy markets exchanges. The company provides services encompassing listings, trading, clearing, settling and depository facili ...

hired Di Iorio as the first

of the

(TSX). 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. Di Iorio is the founder and serves as CEO of Decentral Inc., the developer of Jaxx. Di Iorio has been involved in the development of a ratings system for initial coin offerings and attempting to unite various cryptocurrencies into one financial ecosystem. In a series of articles published in February 2018, ''

'' named Di Iorio among its list of the top-20 richest people in cryptocurrency.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Di Iorio, Anthony Living people Businesspeople from Toronto 21st-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian chief executives Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Canadian billionaires Canadian technology company founders Year of birth missing (living people) People associated with Ethereum