Most Influential 2021: Andre Cronje
Will 2022 be the year Yearn becomes the “back office for yield?”

Andre Cronje is the architect behind decentralized finance giant Yearn. Introduced in 2020, with a “fair launch” said to have helped ignite that year’s “DeFi Summer,” Yearn continues to break new ground. This year saw mergers and acquisitions of protocols by other protocols become somewhat routine, with Yearn doing much of the expansion. Cronje, once a reluctant leader of the project who threatened to step down entirely, now says he wants Yearn to become the “SAP of yield.”
The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021
CoinDesk Asked:
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned this year?
Good marketing is more powerful than a good product.
What was your biggest success?
Fixed forex
Name one big plan for Yearn 2022.
Becoming the back office for yield. Yearn needs to become the SAP of yield.
How is crypto going to change the world by 2030?
Financial transparency and accountability. Content ownership and custody. Decreased privacy. Less (hopefully no) intermediaries.

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