CoinDesk Most Influential 2025
Most Influential: Dennis Porter
When it seemed like many of the states came up with the same bitcoin reserve idea at the same time, a campaign driven by Porter deserves some credit for that tide.
Most Influential: Gilles Roth
Led by Finance Minister Gilles Roth, Luxembourg in the second half of 2025 became the first of the 20-member eurozone to invest in bitcoin.
Most Influential: Sam Altman
OpenAI founder Sam Altman brought artificial intelligence into every corner of people’s lives this year, from the way they work to the way they play. AI has already radically transformed the crypto ecosystem in both good ways and bad, guiding trading decisions, aiding developers, and making hackers more efficient.
Most Influential: Vlad Tenev
Robinhood has acquired Bitstamp, launched staking services for ether and solana, and added new tokens for US users, including XRP, SOL, and BNB.
Most Influential: Paul Atkins
Under Atkins’ leadership, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has undergone a near-complete reversal of the way it regulates crypto.
Most Influential: Caroline Pham
As an acting chairman at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Caroline Pham pulled no punches in pursuing crypto-friendly policy aims.
Most Influential: Carlos Domingo
The Securitize CEO ground through the uncool years of tokenization while NFTs, FTX and memecoins soaked up the hype. With billions in tokenized assets, a SPAC listing in the works and BlackRock as a flagship client and backer, Carlos Domingo’s early bet is finally paying off.
Most Influential: Jeremy Allaire
Allaire spent 2025 pushing regulated digital dollars into the mainstream, shaping U.S. policy and unveiling Arc as the foundation for institutional blockchain finance.
Most Influential: Peter Schiff
Peter Schiff, the outspoken gold advocate and notorious bitcoin critic, has been vindicated by the market’s performance, cementing his stance after years of skepticism towards digital assets.
