The 18 Most Influential People in Crypto
As cryptocurrency adoption expands, you’ll likely see more and more famous individuals promoting it. But just because someone is famous doesn’t mean they know what they are talking about.
Be careful about who you take cryptocurrency advice from, as not everyone may be as knowledgeable as they present themselves to be. Learn more about the most influential individuals in cryptocurrency in this blog article.
1. Vitalik Buterin
As the creator of Ethereum, it’s no surprise that Vitalik Buterin made the list. He’s an extremely smart man, and though he may be biased toward his own projects, he definitely is one of the few on this list that you should listen to.
Related: Vitalik Buterin’s Net Worth
2. Andreas M. Antonopoulos
One of the most well-known cryptocurrency public speakers, Antonopoulos has also written several informative books on the subject. He is well-versed and very good at making the topic of crypto approachable to everyone.
3. Brian Armstrong
Though you may not know him by name, Brian Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase and has been monumental in bringing crypto to the average American. Though he isn’t as outspoken as other individuals on this list, he is definitely influential.
4. Michael Saylor
A long-time loud voice in the crypto industry, Michael Saylor is now the CEO of MicroStrategy and has been working tirelessly to integrate Blockchain technology into the company's treasury reserves. In recent years, he has been outspoken and supportive of crypto-friendly policies in the United States.
5. Gavin Wood
Gavin Wood not only co-founded Ethereum, but he also co-founded Polkadot—another influential blockchain. While he currently focuses more on the later project, he knows the ropes when it comes to cryptocurrency and is definitely an individual to listen to.
6. Donald Trump
Sadly, we had to include Donald Trump on this list due to his promised policies having to do with cryptocurrency (which effectively won him the election). We are pretty sure he doesn’t know what he is talking about, and we don’t recommend trusting him, but he is a warrior for crypto and is important in the public eye.
7. Satoshi Nakamoto
Of course, Satoshi Nakamoto is what started all of this talk about cryptocurrency in the first place, BUT he has since disappeared. While we don’t think he was an influential person in crypto, that is no longer the case, which is why he is 7th on our list.
8. Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen is the co-founder of Ripple Labs and is well known for his commentary on uses for cryptocurrency and regulatory changes. Although XRP (Ripple) currently isn’t doing too well, he still knows a lot about the uses of cryptocurrency, and he is definitely not the worst person on this list to consider following.
9. SEC Chair Gary Gensler
Gary Gensler, who is currently the chair of the SEC, definitely isn’t our favorite person but he did approve Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, so we can’t be too mad at him. Like Donald Trump, we don’t recommend taking advice from this individual, but he certainly has been influential in crypto.
10. Changpeng Zhao
Another man you might not know by name you can thank Changpeng Zhao for the creation of Binance. Although he has since been replaced by Richard Teng due to legal issues, we can’t imagine cryptocurrency would have gotten far without his invention of Binance.
11. Ansem
We never thought we would say this, but Ansem, the Memecoin King on Twitter (now X), has truly played a part in shaping the cryptocurrency landscape. He is most well-known for his outspoken and early support of the Solana platform.
12. Cynthia Lummis
In the United States, Wyoming has been the most pro-cryptocurrency state, though many of the states are starting to come around. They have Cynthia Lummis, the Wyoming State Senator, to thank for this. She has long been a cryptocurrency supporter, and, as a former treasurer, she really wants the United States government to hold crypto.
13. Larry Fink
Personally, Larry Fink, AKA the CEO of BlackRock, isn’t our favorite person on the planet, but he has been monumental in the cryptocurrency industry. Not only did he push hard for Bitcoin ETFs, but he also helped support the industry following the collapse of FTX.
14. Lily Liu
The second female to appear on our list, Lily Liu, has had an impressive career in the cryptocurrency industry. She is currently the president of Solana and also a member of the board for Ledger. When she isn’t working on either of those projects, she spends her time advising even more, from Osmosis to Brave.
15. Patrick McHenry
The only other law marker on our list, Patrick McHenry, has spent much of his tenure in Congress fighting for cryptocurrency legislation. While he’s had some wins and some losses, we sure are happy that he is on our side. Unfortunately, the bill he helped push through the house may be delayed until he has finished his term—making its future uncertain.
16. ZachXBT
ZachXBT is a cryptocurrency sleuth operating under a pseudo-name. Coming on the scene in 2021, there is no one who has caught the same number of crypto criminals as he has. The coolest thing is that he does most of his work for free—a sign of a truly incredible individual. Without him, so many cryptocurrency criminals may have gotten away that we may not be where we are today!
17. Justin Sun
While we certainly aren’t a fan of the Tron project, the crypto world would be a totally different place without Justin Sun. What’s more is that he was incredibly busy this year, working on numerous new projects. He’s got a lot of money, though, thanks to Tron, so take anything he says with a grain of salt.
18. Erik Voorhees
A very well-known name in the cryptocurrency world, Erik Voorhees has recently dived into the AI and security sides of crypto simultaneously—spending his time creating AI tools to make blockchain tech safer. Although this is his recent project, Erik has been in cryptocurrency a long time, creating Satoshi Dice, ShapeShift, VeniceAI, and more.
