Most Influential 2023


Consensus Magazine

Shavonne Wong: Not Even Sam Altman 'Is Exempt From Surveillance'

The artist made an NFT of the Worldcoin co-founder and OpenAI CEO for our Most Influential package.

Shavonne Wong, the artist behind the NFT.

Consensus Magazine

Rhett Mankind: Casey Rodarmor 'Wasn't Just Another Elusive Figure'

The artist made an NFT of the Ordinals protocol creator for our Most Influential package.

Rhett is the artist behind the NFT.

Consensus Magazine

Ian Allison's Giant Sam Bankman-Fried Scoop Won Accolades in 2023

The CoinDesk reporter belongs in the Journalism Hall of Fame since there's little, if any, precedent for the waves his story on Alameda Research and FTX stirred up.

CoinDesk's Ian Allison (Mason Webb/CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Julia Leung: Positioning Hong Kong as a Crypto Hub

A former journalist, Leung is the world’s most powerful female financial regulator in an increasingly important center for crypto.

Julia Leung (Mason Webb/CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Martin Köppelmann Is Fighting to Keep Crypto Tech on Track

In addition to building some of the biggest blockchain tools on Ethereum, Köppelmann is also ringing the alarm bell on how certain technology has caused the network to stray from its ideals.

Martin Köppelmann against a light background

Consensus Magazine

Elizabeth Warren: D.C.'s Crypto Critic-in-Chief

The U.S. Senator from Massachusetts is skeptical of crypto. It's a position she leaned into in 2023.

The artist Die with the most likes's rendering of Elizabeth Warren for Most Influential 2023.

Consensus Magazine

Barry Silbert Navigated Fallout From 2022's Crypto Scandals

The former owner of CoinDesk faced a slew of lawsuits and complications in 2023, but by year-end, his Digital Currency Group had put some issues behind it.

Digital Currency Group's Barry Silbert (Mason Webb/CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Ron Faris at Nike Is Running With Web3

As many corporations shied away from blockchain-powered initiatives this year, Nike has been quietly building a model for how brands can use a Web3 backend to gain new audiences.

Black and white image of Ron Faris

Consensus Magazine

Caroline Pham: Supportive Regulation at the CFTC

The CFTC commissioner, in a year marked by an aggressive, sometimes arbitrary regulatory enforcement, stood out as an accommodator of innovation in the crypto sector.

The CFTC's Caroline Pham (Mason Webb/CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

Antonio Juliano: Uprooting a Successful Exchange to Explore the Cosmos

Juliano's dYdX switched from Ethereum to Cosmos in one of the year's biggest blockchain defections. The project has big plans for 2024.

Antonio Juliano (Mason Webb/CoinDesk)

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