The Unfiltered Truth Behind the Blockchain’s Top 100: Love It or Hate It

How the List Was Born

Let’s address the pink elephant in the room: the Cointelegraph Top 100 Notable People in Blockchain is a beacon of controversy. No matter how you slice it, this year’s selection will light a fire under a certain section of the blockchain community. If you thought you were going to agree with every name on the list, chances are that you’re in for a rude awakening.

Why You’ll Disagree

Let’s face it, everyone has their list of favorite blockchain personalities. You might furiously type out tweets of outrage over the omission of that one person you think is the ultimate pioneer. Who is it going to be? Maybe it’s Charles Hoskinson or the enigmatic Arthur Hayes. Or perhaps you’ll throw your hands up in disbelief because John McAfee didn’t make the cut after you swore he was a shoo-in.

Criteria for Inclusion

The selection criteria this year? Well, it’s provocative. Instead of being a simple popularity contest, the Cointelegraph Top 100 highlights those trailblazers whose decisions over the previous year made a material impact in the blockchain realm. We’re talking about people who might just move the needle in 2021.

• No black hats allowed! Well, sort of.
• Meritocracy reigns—no guaranteed spots here!
• 75 fresh faces are infiltrating our list this year.

The New Wave of Innovators

This year’s list showcases a thrilling 75 newcomers, which means that the old guard is making way for a fresh wave of innovative minds. Interestingly, not a single person from last year’s Top 10 held on to their privileged spot—but hey, such is life in this fast-paced industry.

Celebrating Diversity

While you might raise an eyebrow at the apparent ‘Western’ bias of the list, we are pleased to acknowledge the strides made in diversity. Women now hold a commendable 24% of the Top 50, a noticeable leap from last year’s 10%. We’re not there yet, but hey, let’s toast to progress!

The Categories That Matter

Your next question might be, “So, who made it?” Our list features ten individuals from each of ten specialized categories:

• Founders: Builders of tomorrow, paving the way with grit and innovation.
• Investors: The ones bridging traditional finance with the crypto world.
• DeFi: Those daring visionaries shaking up decentralized finance.
• Advocates: The rockstars and influencers rallying for widespread blockchain adoption.
• Media, Data & Research: Figures sifting through noise for the solid gold insights.
• Markets: The analysts who can forecast market moves faster than you can say ‘bull run’.
• Exchange: Heroes of scalability, user experience, and innovation.
• Adoption: The ones making cryptocurrency actually usable in everyday life.
• Law & Politics: Guardians of legal frameworks making a difference in the regulatory space.
• Technology: Developers working tirelessly to perfect the magic behind blockchain.

By the way, this list will be revealed in batches, starting from February 1st. Stay tuned as excitement builds and names drop. Who will take the coveted Top 10 spots? Only time will tell!