As the year of BUIDL comes to a close, 2018 has shown that blockchain technology is progressing more than ever. In honor of development continuing strong through a full year of bear market, we look at the 20 most influential people in crypto (good or bad) for 2018. This list includes devs, CEOs, influencers and troublemakers. All of these people made significant contributions and influence to the space, and we would like to honor them all (sorry McAfee, we decided to leave you off the list this year).

20. Andreas Antonopoulos

Andreas makes our list this year due to his continued advocacy for the adoption and use of Bitcoin. With the current state of blockchain technology, one of the biggest hurdles towards mainstream adoption is simply awareness. While devs take a large amount of this list and deserve the highest amounts of recognition, it is people like Andreas that help the masses become more knowledgeable about our favorite emerging technology. This year, Andreas spoke at 11 events for blockchain advocacy, earning him the number 20 spot on our list.

19. Stephen Pair

Stephen Pair is the co-founder and CEO of Bitpay, which allows for the storage and spending of cryptocurrency through their wallet as well as their debit card. With a goal of mass adoption, Stephen earns a spot on our list by continuing the work of Bitpay in bringing ease of use of cryptocurrencies to the average user.

18. Jackson Palmer

No, this is not a joke, unlike how Dogecoin started. Jackson Palmer, Founder of Dogecoin continues to be a visible figure in crypto, producing videos and the popular Crypto Weekly stream on his Youtube channel. Palmer’s twitter is a reliable source for skepticism and biting critique — a refreshing voice in the crypto space!

Ed. note: we originally mis-stated that Jackson Palmer was still involved in Dogecoin (he stepped away in 2015).

17. Joseph Lubin

Lubin could arguably be put higher on this list and is often an overlooked player in the crypto space. Co-founder of ConsenSys, Ethereum and the Ethereum Foundation, Lubin has somewhat lived in the shadow of other great names in the crypto world while making huge moves. He is credited with assisting in the development of smart contracts and blockchain governance. He is also a massive investor, with an estimated net worth between $1 billion and $5 billion USD.

16. Changpeng Zhao (CZ)

Who doesn’t love the guy that keeps our funds safu? CZ has taken over the crypto exchange world in huge ways, making Binance the top market in the world with roughly $1 billion USD in volume daily. With new listings, charity organizations, and removal of listing fees, CZ showed us that Binance is not going anywhere quickly.

15. Stephan Tual

Stephan Tual continues to be a major influencer in the crypto space. Being both previously part of Ethereum and Slock.it, Stephan has now moved to Atlas Neue, which focuses on funding new startups in the blockchain space. Stephan continues to be a major influencer in the space and will most likely continue to be moving into 2019.

14. Justin Sun

Oh, Justin Sun. Love him or hate him, Justin continues to smash away on Twitter and be one of the more well known marketers in the crypto space for Tron. Regularly tweeting about the progression of Tron, stats on transactions compared to other blockchain projects, and keeping everyone well informed about the Tron Foundation, Justin deserves a spot on this list. It’s hard to go too many days without hearing about something that Justin has said or done.

13. Michael Arrington

When you think of big money coming into crypto, you can’t help but think of Michael Arrington. With his large presence in Silicon Valley already cemented, Michael runs Arrington XRP Capital, which is a $100 million USD fund that is focused solely on crypto. His presence in the crypto space is likely to grow as the market grows, earning him a solid spot on our list.

12. Bobby Lee

Bobby Lee first cemented his position in the crypto space early in 2013 by opening BTCC, the first crypto exchange in China. Since then, Bobby has transitioned to The Bitcoin Foundation, which focuses on bringing safe and sustainable ways for new investors to enter the market and bring general mass adoption with proper regulation. Bobby regularly organizes events and deserves a spot on this list.

11. Peter Todd

Where would we be without developers in this new and emerging tech space? Among developers, Peter Todd is considered one of the most prominent in blockchain technology. His tireless efforts behind the scenes to make this technology accessible to everyone makes him an easy pick for this list.

10. Tim Draper

Breaking into the top 10 is the more recognizable name of Tim Draper. High powered venture capitalist and massive bag holder of Bitcoin, Tim first became known in the crypto space when he purchased 30,000 BTC from Silk Road after they had been seized by US Marshals. Since then, Tim remains an active and strong voice for cryptocurrency use and adoption. Being one of the most prominent venture capitalists on this list, he deserves a spot in the top 10.

9. Charlie Shrem

What kind of list would this be without a little controversy? Charlie Shrem became famous several years ago for his involvement in Silk Road and was sent to prison for a little over a year. Since then, Shrem has been active in the cryptocurrency space by joining Jaxx, a multi-blockchain wallet. It’s always interesting to see what will happen next with Shrem and if he can stay out of trouble.

8. Roger Ver, Craig Wright and Jihan Wu

Yes, I know that this is a 20 most influential people list, but it would be hard to give these guys their own spots as opposed to grouping them together, especially because they are surrounded by controversy and bickering. By now, everyone should be aware of the names Craig Wright, Roger Ver and Jihan Wu for their antics involving the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, hash war, and general childish antics. They certainly have not made this list for the right reasons at all, but regardless have become known among some even outside the crypto space. From Craig Wright randomly saying he is Satoshi Nakamoto to Roger throwing insults Craig’s way, this has been one of the most devastating and embarrassing trio of hooligans in the crypto space. It will be interesting to see if they will continue their barrage of attacks through 2019 or if this will (hopefully) fade away with 2018.

7. Winklevoss Twins

By far the most recognizable duo outside the crypto space are the Winklevoss Twins, who were one of the original advocates for Bitcoin when they purchased 1% of all supply after winning their settlement with Facebook. This year, the twins have made waves for winning a patent for settling exchange-traded products (ETPs) with digital currencies. It is obvious that their presence has remained strong through 2018 and will continue to do so through 2019.

6. Brad Garlinghouse

Brad Garlinghouse is the CEO of #2 market cap token Ripple. While many criticize Ripple for not being decentralized at all, they still deserve mentioning due to their continued presence towards the top of all crypto market caps. Some of the biggest news of the year for Ripple came as they surpassed Ethereum as the #2 market cap, as well as continued partnerships with global banking systems.

5. Gavin Andresen

Gavin Andresen is best known as the lead developer for Bitcoin, as mentioned by Satoshi. Gavin has been considered to be fairly quiet over the last few years, but his involvement with the Bitcoin Foundation as well as his previous contributions to the development of Bitcoin means that he will always be a solid part of the crypto community.

4. Nick Szabo

Similar to Gavin Andresen, Nick Szabo was one of the original cryptographers to create ideas that have lead to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole. He first created the concept of bit gold, which was never actually implemented but arguably created the framework for Bitcoin today. While the hunt for the true Satoshi Nakamoto continues, Nick Szabo is a potential candidate and his influence is still felt through 2018.

3. Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase, the most popular fiat to crypto exchange currently available. Love it or hate it, Coinbase has created massive adoption for the regular person to convert their hard earned fiat currencies into various cryptocurrencies. Throughout this year, Coinbase has worked hard to allow access of more currencies available to the masses. It’s obvious that with 2018 and listing of new coins, as well as announcing the possibility of listing many more, Brian Armstrong and Coinbase are not going anywhere.

2. Charlie Lee

Charlie Lee is the creator of Litecoin and active voice in the crypto community. He remains one of the most outspoken and present voices in the community and often appears on mainstream news networks. Charlie Lee created controversy this year when he announced that he had sold some of his Litecoin holdings, making many believe that he had betrayed his own project. Regardless, the use case of Litecoin has proven throughout 2018 to hold up as an excellent payment service due to high transaction rates. And finally, for #1…

1. Vitalik Buterin

The modern day crypto savior that is Vitalik obviously makes #1 on our list. There can be many cases made as to why some people between #2 and #20 should be in different spots, or even removed from the list as a whole, but it’s obvious that Vitalik is the king of all influence and development within cryptocurrency. With Devcon4 becoming one of the biggest crypto events to date being held this year, to the announcement of Ethereum Constantinople being released early next year, it is obvious that Vitalik is ages ahead of anyone when it comes to rapid development and ensuring that Ethereum has high use case and mass adoption across the entire crypto space. We are all excited and watching carefully to see what Vitalik will do next, and we have little doubt in our minds that he will make #1 on our list next year.