Top 10 Most Influential Celebrities in Cryptocurrency
Since 2009, the cryptocurrency industry has grown to a market size of nearly $2 trillion, with thousands of projects providing cryptocurrency products and services.
Even after thirteen years of development, Bitcoin has always remained the world's most original functional cryptocurrency. As of March 3, 2022, it is still the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization, accounting for just under 42% of the entire market share, maintaining its leading position.
Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has kept his identity hidden from public view and has remained quiet for years, leaving the cryptocurrency’s blockchain network to its community.
Over the years, many outstanding members have emerged from the community to become influential voices shaping the future development, adoption, and infrastructure of Bitcoin.
Today we will select the top ten most influential people behind Bitcoin and learn about their contributions to the Bitcoin network.
1. PlanB
Plan B is a former institutional investor with 25 years of experience in financial markets and a background in quantitative finance. He is well-known in the Bitcoin community for creating the popular Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow (S2F) model in March 2019.
In short, the Bitcoin S2F model utilizes the stock-to-flow model used for traditional commodities and adjusts it for Bitcoin, calculating the scarcity of Bitcoin by dividing its total supply (stock) by its annual production (flow).
As one of the main supporters of Bitcoin, PlanB utilizes Bitcoin valuation models for on-chain analysis and investment strategies, and regularly shares his valuable insights with the community. Interestingly, he is also the developer of the Stock-to-Flow Cross-Asset (S2FX) model, which includes data such as silver, diamonds, gold, and real estate.
2. Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, and the founder and CEO of Block, a financial technology and digital asset payments company formerly known as Square. Jack Dorsey has been a top supporter of Bitcoin. In fact, many call him a “Bitcoin Maximalist” due to his pro-Bitcoin and anti-altcoin views.
In his final years as CEO of Twitter, under his guidance we saw the gradual introduction of cryptocurrency applications to both the social media platform and Blockchain.
In addition to integrating Lightning Network on Twitter in September, allowing users to tip in Bitcoin, Block has been instrumental in the development and adoption of the Lightning Network. The fintech company has facilitated the integration of Bitcoin with the Cash mobile app and other services offered by the company.
Interestingly, when he announced his departure as Square’s CEO, Jack Dorsey said he would focus much of his attention on The Block. Analysts expect the fintech company to place a greater emphasis on pushing cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin following its recent rebranding of Square.
3. Nayib Bukele
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has become a superstar in the cryptocurrency community after announcing his government’s plans to legislate Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador.
The news hype around President Nayib Bukele intensified when Bitcoin laws passed the Latin American country’s Congress and took effect in September 2021.
There is no doubt that President Bukele is a key figure in the Bitcoin space. In addition to being a strong supporter of Bitcoin, he helped El Salvador become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender, and one of the jurisdictions with two national currencies (the U.S. dollar is the other national currency in El Salvador).
Although critics consider Bukele a populist, accusing him of governing in a somewhat authoritarian manner, and President Bukele faces some opposition at home due to his hasty implementation of Bitcoin legislation, he is quite active in the Bitcoin community.
President Bukele, known for buying up bitcoin after every market crash, sees big plans for the world’s largest cryptocurrency within El Salvador, including a forthcoming “Bitcoin City” at the base of a volcano, geothermal mining plants, and bitcoin-based bonds.
4. Michael Saylor
Michael Saylor’s name is relatively new to the cryptocurrency community and has only recently risen to prominence.
Michael Saylor, co-founder and CEO of American business intelligence company MicroStrategy, has become a major player in the crypto asset space after using his company to acquire huge amounts of Bitcoin.
Since MicroStrategy’s first Bitcoin purchase in 2020, Saylor has continued to lead the company in multiple Bitcoin purchases, ultimately making it the largest publicly traded institution holding Bitcoin (the company holds over 125,000 Bitcoins, currently valued at nearly $5.5 billion).
Saylor is also known for being a Bitcoin pioneer. He has successfully convinced colleagues at publicly traded companies to convert a portion of their balance sheets into Bitcoin, which he believes is a programmable cryptographic resource and virtual property that can be transferred "at the speed of light" and "will last forever."
5. Cathie Wood
Cathie Wood is CEO and CIO of Ark Invest, a US-based investment management firm with $50 billion in assets under management.
Her company manages multiple innovation-focused ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds). Cathie Wood is a well-known Bitcoin expert who once predicted that the price of the cryptocurrency will reach $1 million by 2030.
Interestingly, even with the recent popularity of the Web3 space and the rise of DeFi and NFTs, she remains a staunch supporter of Bitcoin, emphasizing its resilience and decentralized nature, as well as its adoption in El Salvador.
6. The Winklevoss Twins
It’s quite interesting that we included the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, as one person on our list since they run most of their ventures in the cryptocurrency world together.
Following their famous lawsuit with Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Winklevoss brothers found their success in the cryptocurrency space, launching the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and making more than two dozen cryptocurrency-focused investments through Winklevoss Capital.
The brothers were among Bitcoin's earliest adopters and invested $10 million in the cryptocurrency in 2012, helping to grow their net worth to $6 billion by April 2021.
7. Jack Mallers
While Jack Mallers has been an active member of the cryptocurrency space since 2013, his journey in the industry took a significant turn in 2017 when he founded Zap, a Bitcoin investment and payments company primarily focused on developing the Lightning Network.
Jack Mallers leads the Zap team of more than 20 people with $3.5 million in secured funding and a partnership with Visa. He is the creator of the Zap Lightning Wallet app and the Strike financial technology solution, the latter of which gained more attention after contributing to Bitcoin infrastructure in El Salvador.
8. Saifedean Ammous
Dr. Saifedean Ammous is a renowned economist and the founder and CEO of saifedean.com. He has earned the respect of the cryptocurrency community after publishing the famous book “The Bitcoin Standard”, which we have previously listed as one of the must-reads for crypto asset enthusiasts.
An early proponent of cryptocurrency, Ammous introduces readers of The Bitcoin Standard to an alternative, more efficient financial system that is largely based on Bitcoin and its deflationary properties and scarcity.
9. Anthony Pompliano
As an entrepreneur and investor, Anthony Pompliano, also known as "Pomp" in the cryptocurrency community, is a high-profile advocate of Bitcoin and a critic of the existing traditional financial system, managing a portfolio of more than $500 million in early-stage technology companies.
He is also the host of the popular cryptocurrency and business-themed Pomp Podcast. Through his show and newsletter subscription, Pomp produces a wealth of high-quality educational content and explores very interesting social, economic, and political topics, primarily related to Bitcoin.
10. Willy Woo
For those looking for comprehensive on-chain Bitcoin analysis, market forecasts, and investment signals, Willy Woo is definitely a great source, and he regularly publishes his research on Twitter and through a paid newsletter platform (subscribers can sign up through his website).
We also recommend checking out woobull.com, another site founded by Willy Woo, where you can view various charts, infographics and blockchain materials, as well as research and articles about the cryptocurrency market.
