Top 10 most influential people in the crypto industry

People are beginning to become aware of the huge potential of cryptocurrencies, but credible sources of information are difficult to identify. So who are the most influential people in the crypto industry?

CHANGPENG ZHAO

Zhao, known as “CZ”, is currently CEO of Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Previously, he was technical director for the Okcoin platform and worked as a developer for Blockchain.info. Currently, he is probably the most important personality in the crypto community alongside Vitalik Buterin. It also appears on Forbes’ list of the richest people in crypto.

VITALIK BUTERIN

Buterin is known as the co-founder of the Ethereum project and the author of the ETH whitepaper. In the five years of his activity, he has played a major role in developing the most used blockchain network for dApps development. According to his own statements, although he initially worked as a Bitcoin developer, he felt that the industry needed a system that would allow the development of applications.

BRIAN ARMSTRONG

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong is currently considered one of the crypto industry experts. Similar to CZ, it wants to turn the exchange into an integrated international platform that allows easy access to cryptocurrency trading for all types of investors.

MICHAEL NOVOGRATZ

Prior to launching its crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital, Novogratz worked as a hedge fund manager for Fortress Investment Group. He claims that over 20% of his current investment portfolio is made up of crypto. Novogratz is considered one of the most optimistic Bitcoin lawyers by the global investor community.

GEMENII WINKLEVOSS

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are the owners of the investment firm Winklevoss Capital and the founders of the crypto exchange “Gemini”. Tyler is the world’s first Bitcoin billionaire.

In April 2013, the brothers said they owned nearly 1 percent of all existing Bitcoin at that time. Currently, they hold BTC worth over $ 1 billion.

BRAD GARLINGHOUSE

Founder Ripple – one of the largest crypto payment processors in the world – Brad Garlinghouse is a very popular name in the crypto industry. He previously served as General Manager of Hightail, a file sharing service. Garlinghouse is also an extremely active investor in fintech start-ups, with over 40 projects funded by the asset.

ROGER SEE

Initially a big supporter of Bitcoin, Roger Ver was one of the first big investors to start investing in crypto projects. Currently, he is the CEO of Bitcoin.com and is also one of the most important supporters of Bitcoin Cash.

BARRY SILBERT

Barry Silbert is the founder of Digital Currency Group, one of the largest investment funds in the crypto space. He is also CEO of Grayscale Investments, an authority on cryptocurrency investments.

JIHAN YOU

One of Bitmain’s main founders, Jihan Wu is considered by many to be the father of cryptocurrency mining. Its net personal value is estimated at more than $ 2 billion.

Wu is also one of the most sought after speakers at crypto conferences organized worldwide. Bitmain is currently the largest manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining equipment, although it has suffered in the last two years.

ADAM BACK

World-renowned cryptographer Adam Back is known for his work with hashcash – a PoW system designed to help email service providers filter out spam. Currently, he is the CEO of Blockstream – a crypto startup, focused on developing side-chains and other innovative applications.

Other people in the crypto industry are Kathleen Breitman, Tezos co-founder, Charlie Lee, Litecoin founder Joseph Lubin of Consensys and computer expert Nick Szabo.