Most Influential 2021: Vitalik Buterin
The founder of Ethereum still holds sway over the most used blockchain network.
Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian programmer, is the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain and (nearly as important) Bitcoin Magazine. Some of his earliest writing still influences the cryptocurrency industry today. Take DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations, which Buterin wrote about in the Ethereum white paper (2013) and took prominence this year. One of the richest crypto founders, but humble to a T, Buterin often seems motivated more by a desire to build digital “public goods,” than money. That’s why he may have donated millions of dollars worth of “dog tokens” sent to him unsolicited to COVID-19 and transhumanist causes.
The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
Why it matters:
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
