The crypto industry is an establishment that has attracted the interest of people from different fields. Financial experts, technology entrepreneurs, and businessmen have joined to promote the advancement and acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
While many of them exist in the crypto industry, others stand out. Interestingly, certain individuals are seen as powerhouses in the crypto community. Their opinions about delicate concepts, for instance, a crypto token, can either send the asset reeking high in market price or crashing down heavily like a stone rolling down the hill.
Familiar names like Elon Musk or Vitalik Buterin have spearheaded the growth of several sectors in the crypto market. But they are more individuals you should keep tags on. Continue reading to see some of the most prominent personalities in the crypto industry.
1. Changpeng Zhao (CZ Binance)
Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, is arguably the most prominent force in the crypto industry. He is the CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, and has contributed significantly to the development of the crypto industry.
CZ is mainly known for pushing the adoption of cryptocurrencies in other countries and making them accessible to the masses.
2. Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin is the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain and has contributed a considerable measure to the advancement of the crypto sector.
He is one of the famous crypto influencers that has played a significant role in the refinement of the decentralized sector of the industry. Widely regarded as a genius in blockchain technology, the Ethereum co-founder is often associated with developing smart contracts.
3. Elon Musk
Despite being known for his contributions to the tech industry, Elon Musk is now among the most famous crypto influencers. His journey to crypto influence is best known in 2020 when he commented about Dogecoin and the price increase significantly.
His company Tesla is one of the first major tech companies that started accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. According to Tesla support, the company still accepts Dogecoin for some of its merchandise.
4. Gavin Wood
Together with Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood co-founded the Ethereum blockchain. He is also one of the key developers that helped advance the decentralized sector of the industry and smart contracts.
Despite being one of the prominent crypto celebrities, Gavin Wood has kept a low profile most of the time. He is considered a thought leader in the crypto industry and has continued to share his experience.
5. Michael Saylor
Michael Saylor is very Influential in the crypto industry due to his massive contributions. He is the CEO of MicroStrategy, a publicly traded business intelligence firm with several investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
He is pro-crypto and has always encouraged other traditional financial institutions to invest in Bitcoin.
6. Anatoly Yakovenko
Anatoly Yakovenko co-founded Solana, one of the crypto industry's fastest and most scalable blockchains. Despite building in the Solana blockchain, Anatoly Yakovenko has also contributed massively to developing other solutions built in the Ethereum network.
He has always been vocal about developing scalable blockchain solutions and how they will contribute to the industry. According to him, he sees decentralized finance as the future of the financial sector.
7. Justin Sun
Justin Sun is one of the most vocal and interactive crypto celebrities. He founded TRON, a decentralized blockchain platform for the entertainment industry, and has always used his platform for crypto education.
Justin Sun is also bullish on crypto adoption, as he has made many efforts to push the adoption of cryptocurrencies in different countries. He is also an advocate for decentralized finance and an accessible financial system.
8. Satoshi Nakamoto
Despite being anonymous, Satoshi is among the biggest names in the crypto industry. No one knows the identity of this person, despite contributing to the development of the apex cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto was the one who wrote the first Bitcoin whitepaper and masterminded the development of the whole crypto industry. Despite his anonymity, Satoshi Nakamoto remains influential in the crypto industry.
9. Caitlin Long
Caitlin Long is one of the most prominent female crypto influencers. She is the Founder and CEO of Avanti Bank & Trust and Chairman of WyoHackathon.
She has been making lifelong investments in the crypto industry, as it can be seen when she won the MarketsMedia Women in Finance Award for Excellence in Blockchain in 2016.
10. Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is the founder and CEO of a crypto company called Digital Currency Group. This company funds crypto and blockchain startups. Apart from supporting crypto firms with investment funds, Barry Silbert is also known for pushing the adoption of cryptocurrencies by other institutions.
Despite being a seasoned entrepreneur, Barry Silbert is also an educator who teaches crypto adoption's importance. He is known among the crypto community as a thought leader and pro-crypto activist.
11. Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong is the CEO of one of the biggest crypto exchanges, Coinbase. After starting his crypto exchange, Brian Armstrong has revealed that one of his goals is to make the trading of cryptocurrencies available to everyone around the world.
The seasoned crypto entrepreneur has always used his platform to preach the importance of the crypto industry to the world economy. He has also been encouraging many countries to lower their regulations on cryptocurrency.
12. Cathie Wood
Cathie Wood is another female influencer and thought leader in the crypto industry. Cathie Wood was named one of the 50 people shaping global business by Bloomberg because of her groundbreaking contributions to the crypto industry.
She is also the co-founder of hedge fund Tupelo Capital Management, which helps to provide funds for crypto firms.
13. Charles Hoskinson
Charles Hoskinson is the founder of Cardano and is one of the most famous crypto influencers. The crypto network he created is a decentralized blockchain platform that aims to provide a secure and scalable infrastructure for decentralized applications and services.
As with Cardano, his inventions have become very important in the crypto industry. He has played a significant role in the advancement of the decentralized sector.
14. Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey is known chiefly as the co-founder of Twitter and the CEO of the financial services company Square. But behind his Twitter invention, Dorsey is one of the crypto celebrities due to his contributions to the crypto industry.
He is pro-Bitcoin, as he has always advocated for cryptocurrency to be adopted by several technological establishments. One of the companies he founded, Square, invested about $50 million (25% of their assets) in Bitcoin.
15. Kris Marszalek
Kris Marszalek is the CEO of one of the most prominent crypto establishments called Crypto.com. Crypto.com is a firm invested in offering trades, payments, Visa cards, interest-bearing savings, and the general buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. Crypto.com has over 5 million customers and is still expanding to reach other parts of the world.
16. The Winklevoss Twins
The Winklevoss Twins are two brothers who have made massive crypto industry contributions. They are best known for the crypto exchange they created called Gemini.
They are also pro-crypto, consistently advocating for adopting cryptocurrencies across several platforms. They are relentless in their advocacy as they educate and push world leaders to ease the strict regulations limiting the crypto industry.
17. Hayden Adams
Hayden Adam founded one of the most disruptive technologies in the crypto industry. He created Uniswap to develop a decentralized trading protocol for ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum. With the platform he made, crypto users can now trade cryptocurrencies without needing intermediaries.