Meet the 5 Most Powerful People in Crypto Right Now and What They’re Planning Next
The center of power in crypto has shifted. Gone are the days when exchanges and regulators held all the cards. In 2025, influence flows through infrastructure, capital markets, and protocol roadmaps. Cointelegraph identifies the five most powerful people in crypto today
How We Defined “Power” in Our Top Five
Power in crypto is no longer about hype or headlines.
It’s about direct, measurable influence.
- Control over capital flows or blockspace
- Ability to set and ship roadmaps others must follow
- Credible, announced next steps landing in the next few quarters
These five leaders meet all three criteria—shaping the ecosystem from the ground up.
1. Larry Fink (BlackRock)
The King of Institutional Crypto
- Power in Practice:
- IBIT (Bitcoin ETF): Holds $85.4B in AUM — the largest crypto ETF in history
- BUIDL (Tokenized Treasuries): Over $1B AUM, now multi-chain (Ethereum, Solana)
- Aladdin Integration: BlackRock’s $20T portfolio system now supports onchain assets
- What’s Next:
- More Crypto ETFs: Exploring listings beyond BTC and ETH
- Deeper Tokenization: BUIDL to integrate with Aladdin, enabling institutional-grade onchain cash management
- Multi-Chain Expansion: Pushing tokenized assets across chains where demand exists
“Fink doesn’t just move money—he moves markets.”
2. Paolo Ardoino (Tether)
The Architect of Onchain Dollar Liquidity
- Power in Practice:
- USDT Market Cap: $167B — the dominant digital dollar
- Settlement Rail: Powers 60%+ of onchain USD flows
- Hard Asset Buildout: Investing in Bitcoin mining, biogas, and privacy AI
- What’s Next:
- Expand Energy & Mining: New data centers in Brazil, Argentina, and the U.S.
- Privacy-Preserving AI Stack: Edge computing for secure, decentralized AI
- Emerging Market Payments: Deepen USD corridors in LATAM, Africa, and Asia
“Every dollar that moves onchain likely passes through Tether.”
3. Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum)
The Visionary Behind the World Computer
- Power in Practice:
- Pectra Upgrade (Live): Introduced EIP-7702 — enabling account abstraction for EOAs
- Validator Limit Increase: From 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH per validator — boosting staking efficiency
- Influence: Shapes Ethereum’s core roadmap and developer ecosystem
- What’s Next:
- History Expiry (EIP-4444): Shrinking node storage needs — already rolling out
- Verkle Trees: Enabling stateless clients and lower hardware barriers
- Enshrined PBS (ePBS): Hardening censorship resistance and MEV fairness
“Buterin doesn’t code the future—he designs it.”
4. Anatoly Yakovenko (Solana)
The Speed King of High-Throughput Execution
- Power in Practice:
- Firedancer Validator Client: Achieved 7M+ TPS in tests — poised to end client centralization
- Stablecoin Scale: Solana now leads in daily active stablecoin addresses
- Consumer Focus: Home to Telegram mini-apps, payments, and DePIN
- What’s Next:
- Phased Firedancer Rollout: Transition from testnet to production in late 2025
- Payments UX: Compete directly with Ethereum L2s on speed and cost
- DePIN Expansion: Scale real-world infrastructure networks like Helium
“If crypto becomes fast, Yakovenko built the engine.”
5. Sreeram Kannan (EigenLayer)
The Creator of the Restaking Economy
- Power in Practice:
- Restaking Revolution: Turned staked ETH into a rentable security market
- Slashing Live (April 2025): Misbehavior now penalized — trust is enforced
- Multichain Verification: AVSs can run on L2s while anchored to Ethereum
- What’s Next:
- Institutional Risk Models: Standardized AVS risk, insurance, and procurement
- EigenCloud Expansion: “Verifiability-as-a-service” with tools for developers
- Cross-Domain Services: Secure interop between chains and rollups
“Kannan didn’t just create a protocol—he created a new layer of trust.”
Cross-Currents: Why Not Regulators or Exchange CEOs?
While figures like Richard Teng (Binance) and Jeremy Allaire (Circle) remain influential, their power is now narrower.
- Binance moves liquidity, but doesn’t control base-layer innovation
- Circle leads in regulation, but Tether controls the supply
- Regulators set rules, but these five are building the future
The real tone-setters?
Those who control flows, security, and execution.
What to Watch Next
| Trend | Key Developments to Monitor |
|---|---|
| Tokenization Pace | BUIDL’s multi-chain expansion and collateral adoption |
| Stablecoin Infrastructure | U.S. GENIUS Act rulemaking, Treasury access, bankruptcy priority |
| Ethereum Post-Pectra | Enshrined PBS, full history expiry, Verkle rollout |
| Solana Execution | Firedancer production launch, payments integrations |
| Restaking Maturation | Institutional AVS risk frameworks, EigenCloud adoption |
Final Takeaway: The New Power Structure of Crypto
- ✅ Power has shifted from exchanges to infrastructure and capital markets
- ✅ The top 5 control liquidity, security, and execution
- ✅ Their next moves will define who wins in 2025–2026
In this new era,
the most powerful people aren’t making the most noise.
They’re building the rails everyone else runs on.
