In summary
- Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, led the fight for crypto regulations in the US
- Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy, drove the institutional adoption of Bitcoin.
- Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, expanded the exchange’s global presence and promoted diversity in crypto.
- Maggie Love, founder of SheFi, encouraged the inclusion of women in the Web3 ecosystem.
Santa made his list and checked it twice, and Decrypt has all the information on who’s been naughty or nice in the Cryptocurrency industry over the past year.
From cryptocurrency CEOs advocating for the industry to NFT project founders using their good fortune to help others, several Web3 hard workers have earned a spot on St. Nick’s “good ol’ boy list” this year. . Here’s who can expect presents under the tree when Santa comes to town.
Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong is the face of the crypto industry’s fight for more favorable regulations in the US.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Image: Coinbase
The soft-spoken CEO of Coinbase spent a lot of time in Washington this year, engaging in discussions with Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike about the future of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. Meanwhile, Armstrong’s team led efforts to focus issues related to digital assets in the 2024 US elections, sponsoring studies on the political leanings of cryptocurrency holders and facilitating Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign to accept cryptocurrency campaign donations.
Armstrong and his team were instrumental in creating the procrypted super PAC Fairshake with a $200 million war chest. Coinbase donated approximately $50 million each to Fairshake between 2023 and 2024, helping to secure the election of the most proscribed US Congress in history.
Carlos Domingo
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo is the face of the crypto industry’s tokenization craze—a trend that has helped drive digital asset prices to new heights in 2024. In June, the executive gave testimony on Capitol Hill on the importance of tokenization of real-world assets and its implications for the future of finance.
CEO of Securitize Carlos Domingo. Photo: Carlos Domingo
Domingo is also an important ally for institutional investors looking to invest funds in cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, the Spanish founder’s tokenization platform partnered with BlackRock to launch the investment titan’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
Michael Taylor
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has remained a strong supporter of Bitcoin, adding more than $15 billion of the world’s oldest cryptocurrency to his company’s balance sheet in recent weeks, according to the company’s filing with US regulators. .
Saylor’s company owns 423,650 Bitcoin (valued at $41.5 billion) at the time of publication, the company’s financial statements show.
MicroStrategy co-founder and CEO Michael Saylor at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami. Source: André Beganski/Decrypt
Despite holding roughly 2% of all Bitcoin to be mined, Saylor has contributed to the future of the cryptocurrency in another important way: encouraging other tech giants to hold the asset.
Earlier this month, Saylor presented Microsoft directors with a proposal to add Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet, which shareholders ultimately rejected. Additionally, he urged Amazon shareholders to also pressure the delivery company to invest in the digital currency. Many other smaller companies have also followed MicroStrategy’s lead.
Maggie Love
Maggie Love is the founder of SheFi, a community for women in the cryptocurrency industry.
SheFi offers dedicated job boards, courses, and networking opportunities for women, a demographic that remains vastly underrepresented on Web3 and in the broader tech sector.
Less than 15% of startups within the Web3 ecosystem have at least one female founder, while only 3% have an all-female founding team, according to a Boston Consulting Group analysis of Crunchbase data.
SheFi is challenging that lack of representation, however.
Since its inception, SheFi has gathered over 3,000 members, becoming one of the largest female-led communities in crypto.
Edward Snowden
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has continued to advocate for privacy rights at a time when the adoption of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain networks is accelerating.
At the annual Bitcoin conference in Nashville, TN this summer, Snowden warned conference attendees to vote independently in the upcoming US presidential election, which had major consequences for the future of the Bitcoin industry. cryptocurrencies. He also noted that governments could use AI-powered tools to extract metadata from people, a much-needed warning at a time when the use of AI tools is gaining ground.
Luca Netz
Pudgy Penguins CEO and IP owner Luca Netz has built an NFT empire of adorable avian creatures despite a deep decline in the cryptocurrency collectibles market.
Pudgy Penguins’ notable growth accelerated with the launch of the Webkinz-like Pudgy World in 2024, and was later fueled by the hype surrounding the launch of the Solana-based PENGU token.
The base price of Pudgy Penguins, that is, the price of the least valuable token in a given collection, skyrocketed to an all-time high of around $134,000 on Ethereum in mid-December, more than tripling its price since the start of the year, according to CoinGecko data. It is the second most valuable profile picture project on the market right now, behind only the influential CryptoPunks.
Pudgy Penguins also continued to make inroads into the hearts of mainstream consumers in 2024, as its collection of real-world toys expanded on shelves at Walmart, Target and Walgreens in the United States and Canada.
In addition to his work at Pudgy Penguins, Netz is also a dedicated angel investor in several Web3 projects, including women-led companies like Chipped.
Grace Chen
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen has led the world’s 11th largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume since May 2024. And despite the recentness of her tenure, Chen is already making her mark.
Chen helped the trading platform close a major deal with the Spanish soccer league La Liga, raising the stock market’s profile in Europe and Latin America. And under his leadership, Bitget also expanded its presence in Europe, establishing its first regional center in Lithuania.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen. Photo: Gracy Chen
The moves are part of the platform’s broader strategy to attract new users in markets around the world. Meanwhile, Chen’s Bitget has promoted the development of the cryptocurrency industry through its $100 million “Web3” Fund.
In addition to her work at Bitget, the executive has also led charitable programs such as Blockchain4Her, an initiative that aims to promote gender inclusion and diversity in the cryptocurrency industry. Chen is also a delegate to the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women.
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