Redrawing the Lines of Power: 10 Figures Defining Crypto 2025

If one word must be used to summarize the cryptocurrency industry in 2025, it would be neither “bull market” nor “regulation,” but institutionalization.

This year, cryptocurrencies no longer stood in opposition to the global financial system. Instead, they were formally absorbed into its institutions, capital flows, and power structures.

Traditional financial giants such as Wall Street firms, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds began entering the crypto market in a systematic way. Led by Strategy, publicly listed companies added Bitcoin to their corporate balance sheets. Combined with large-scale capital inflows through ETFs, Bitcoin surpassed its previous all-time high in 2025 and reached $126,000.

At the same time, the market capitalization of USDT exceeded $183.4 billion. This positioned Tether as a core component of a global "dollar alternative payment system." Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal significantly expanded their on-chain payment capabilities, while USDC was widely adopted for e-commerce settlements, cross-border remittances, and small and medium-sized enterprise payments. For the first time, stablecoin truly penetrated the real economy.

The passage of the GENIUS Act, the shift in power within US regulatory agencies, and systematic capital inflows through ETFs together marked a deep structural transition: the crypto industry has moved from its frontier phase into an institutional era.

Behind these landmark developments stand the industry's key leaders. Their guidance has ushered crypto into a new age defined by institutionalization, globalization, and widespread institutional participation.

As 2025 draws to a close, we’ve curated a list of the year's top ten figures. Take a look at how these leaders shaped the trajectory of the crypto industry.

1. Donald Trump: Tokenizing Political Power

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, marking a significant shift in Washington’s approach to cryptocurrencies.

During his campaign, Trump pledged to turn the United States into the “crypto capital of the world,” a message that resonated strongly with crypto companies and investors. More notable, however, was how he directly translated political influence into economic value.

Three days before his inauguration, Trump launched a token named “Trump” on the Solana network. Framed as an “official meme token” and benefiting from the implicit endorsement of an incoming president, the asset rapidly attracted speculative capital and surged to approximately $75. According to a March 2025 analysis by the Financial Times, the project generated an estimated $350 million in net proceeds from token sales and transaction fees. At its peak, this briefly lifted Trump’s personal paper wealth to around $20 billion.

The Trump administration’s policy direction further reinforced an institutional stance toward digital assets. On January 23, Trump signed Executive Order 14178, establishing the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. The order explicitly prohibited federal agencies from creating or advancing a central bank digital currency, while committing the administration to support the development of dollar-pegged stablecoins.

The executive order issued on March 6 carried greater strategic significance. It established the United States Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, designating Bitcoin seized by the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department as national strategic reserve assets. This move effectively granted Bitcoin formal recognition within the U.S. financial system.

On July 18, the signing of the GENIUS Act marked a major milestone in the institutionalization of cryptocurrencies. For the first time, federal legislation provided a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins, enabling their structured integration into the mainstream financial system.

At the same time, Trump’s tariff policies emerged as a key source of market volatility. Following the announcement of the April “Liberation Day tariffs,” market sentiment deteriorated sharply, and Bitcoin briefly fell to around $85,000. These policy-driven price swings were humorously labeled by traders as “TACO trades,” shorthand for Trump-driven Cryptocurrency Operations.

Beyond the personal token initiative, the Trump family also generated substantial gains through World Liberty Financial, a family-founded crypto venture. The firm operates the governance token WLFI and the dollar-backed stablecoin USD1. According to estimates by the Financial Times, WLFI token sales generated $550 million in revenue, while the USD1 stablecoin business contributed approximately $2.71 billion. The Trump family holds a 38% equity stake in the company.

Taken together, the Trump phenomenon reflects a broader transformation within the crypto industry. Political authority is increasingly emerging as an anchor of crypto value, while the industry’s earlier emphasis on decentralization continues to give way to a more structured and institutionalized reality.

2. Michael Saylor: Driving the Corporate Crypto Reserve Revolution

If Donald Trump represents the financialization of political capital through crypto, Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, embodies a fundamental shift in corporate treasury management.

In August 2020, Strategy announced the purchase of approximately 21,454 Bitcoin using about $250 million in cash, explicitly outlining a strategy to replace cash holdings in its corporate treasury with Bitcoin. The importance of this decision extended far beyond a conventional investment. It challenged long-standing assumptions about how corporations preserve and store value.

Saylor went on to build a coherent theoretical framework positioning Bitcoin as a corporate reserve asset. Across numerous public appearances and investor communications, he emphasized that the company was not speculating on an emerging technology, but executing a long-term asset allocation strategy designed to protect shareholder value. This framing helped reposition Bitcoin from a speculative instrument into a form of financial infrastructure.

By 2025, corporate adoption of Bitcoin accelerated significantly, with publicly listed companies entering the market at an unprecedented pace. Throughout this period, Strategy continued to expand its holdings. As of December 2025, the company holds a total of 671,268 Bitcoin. Its most recent purchase occurred on December 15, when it deployed approximately $980 million to acquire an additional 10,645 Bitcoin.

3. Tom Lee: Bridging Wall Street and Crypto

As traditional finance began its historic shift toward digital assets, Tom Lee, founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, played a critical role as a bridge between Wall Street and the crypto ecosystem. As one of the earliest and most influential Bitcoin advocates within traditional finance, his views helped shape how institutional investors evaluate and contextualize crypto assets.

In 2017, at a time when mainstream financial circles were largely hostile toward Bitcoin, Lee stated in an interview with CNBC that Bitcoin had the potential to surpass $25,000. The call earned him a reputation as “Wall Street’s most famous crypto bull.” More importantly, in 2018 he introduced the Bitcoin Misery Index, along with cost-based valuation and network-effect models. These frameworks provided Bitcoin with a more structured and analytical valuation foundation and continue to be referenced across the industry today.

In 2020, as companies such as Strategy and Tesla began allocating Bitcoin to their balance sheets, Lee consistently argued in public that corporate adoption of Bitcoin as a treasury asset was inevitable and structurally irreversible. His outlook on the subsequent bull market was ultimately validated by market developments, reinforcing his role as a key interpreter between traditional finance and the emerging crypto economy.

In 2025, Tom Lee expanded his focus beyond Bitcoin to the Ethereum ecosystem. In multiple media interviews, he argued that Ethereum was entering the early phase of a supercycle comparable to Bitcoin’s post-2017 trajectory. Supported by his advocacy, market sentiment remained constructive throughout the year, and Ethereum surpassed its previous all-time high in August, rising to nearly $5,000.

Lee’s role extends beyond analysis and commentary. BitMine, an Ethereum-focused treasury company where he serves as chairman, continued to accumulate Ether throughout the year. As of December 21, 2025, the company disclosed holdings of 4,066,062 ETH, equivalent to approximately 3.37% of Ethereum’s total supply.

Despite Ethereum recently falling below $3,000 and BitMine’s share price trading around $32, Lee has reaffirmed his year-end price target of $10,000 for Ethereum.

Lee’s influence stems from his ability to apply Wall Street’s analytical frameworks and investment discipline to digital assets, while simultaneously articulating the long-term value of crypto to traditional financial institutions. Through this dual role, he has become a key catalyst in the convergence of traditional finance and the crypto economy.

4. Changpeng Zhao (CZ): The Unquiet Will

For Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, 2025 was a pivotal year marked by his emergence from legal uncertainty and the rapid reassertion of influence over the crypto industry’s narrative.

President Trump’s pardon restored CZ’s personal freedom and underscored his ability to navigate political power structures. More importantly, it set the stage for a swift return to industry relevance. Within months, CZ demonstrated that his absence had not diminished his strategic control or market impact.

Once you reach the top of the crypto industry, you don't just walk away.

CZ’s return reflected calculated patience and long-term ambition rather than haste. In March 2025, Binance launched the Alpha 2.0 platform. Publicly positioned as a discovery hub for early-stage Web3 projects, the initiative represented a deeper commercial shift. By integrating on-chain asset issuance directly into the Binance ecosystem, the platform enabled Binance to surpass OKX Wallet, reshaping competition across wallets, launches, and liquidity access.

The broader strategy was unmistakable. Revitalizing BNB Chain, directly challenging the dominance of Solana, and exerting sustained pressure on second- and third-tier exchanges through aggressive token listing competition all reflected a coherent and forceful execution. The results were both rapid and effective.

Equally notable was CZ’s precise command of market sentiment. When the “Binance Life” meme token surged past a $500 million market capitalization within four days, delivering a 6,000-fold increase in just 96 hours, a brief post by CZ on X featuring the hashtag “#BNB meme szn” was enough to ignite a chain-wide meme coin frenzy. The episode reaffirmed that CZ’s influence extends beyond platforms and products into the psychology of the market itself.

In 2025, CZ increased his engagement with KOLs across the crypto ecosystem. His public commentary also coincided with the emergence of numerous meme tokens. While he later characterized these outcomes as "pure coincidence," a single post was often sufficient to trigger shifts involving hundreds of millions of dollars in market value. This effect alone underscored the scale of his influence.

Every public action taken by CZ carried clear signaling power. His investment of 2 million tokens into the Aster project in November was publicly framed as support for the decentralized perpetual futures sector. In practice, it also served as a broader message to the market. Despite prolonged regulatory pressure, he retained the capacity to shape industry direction. Influence no longer required direct operational control of Binance. Instead, CZ exercised power through capital allocation, social media reach, and ecosystem-level coordination. These methods were quieter yet more effective.

This transition from direct authority to indirect influence has made his position nearly unassailable. Through consistent actions rather than formal titles, CZ demonstrated a central reality of the crypto industry. Enduring power does not depend on official roles. Instead, he maintains his grip through methods that are quieter but more effective: capital deployment, social influence, and ecosystem ecosystem building.

5. Vitalik Buterin: Navigating the Gap Between Ideals and Institutions

On July 30, 2025, Ethereum marked its tenth anniversary. Its founder, Vitalik Buterin, continued to navigate a delicate balance between the principles of decentralization and the accelerating momentum of institutional adoption.

Ethereum experienced pronounced price volatility throughout 2025. In April, its price briefly fell to around $1,793, and market sentiment turned decisively bearish. However, as Circle went public and narratives around stablecoins and real-world assets gained traction, Ethereum regained prominence as core financial infrastructure rather than a purely speculative asset.

On June 2, Joseph Lubin, founder of Consensys, introduced an “ETH treasury” strategy through the U.S.-listed company SharpLink Gaming (SBET). Companies such as BitMine, Bit Digital, and GameSquare followed with similar strategies, contributing to sustained upward momentum in Ethereum’s price. In July alone, ETH rose by approximately 40%, and in August it reached a new all-time high of $4,946.05.

On the symbolic date of July 30, Buterin published Ethereum 2035: Vitalik’s Vision for the Next Decade. In this ten-year vision essay, he outlined Ethereum’s long-term trajectory, addressing scalability, privacy, governance evolution, and the importance of preserving Ethereum’s experimental culture. The roadmap framed Ethereum’s transformation from a platform for crypto-native applications into a component of critical global financial infrastructure

On October 20, Vitalik Buterin announced the launch of the GKR protocol (Goldreich–Kahan–Rothblum). The protocol is a Proof of Stake and zero-knowledge computation framework designed for high-speed proof generation, with applications spanning both blockchain systems and large-scale AI computation. It is widely viewed as Ethereum’s next-generation super proof system and a foundational component of Ethereum’s lightweight scaling strategy.

Despite these technical advances, Vitalik has remained cautious about the accelerating pace of institutionalization. While the growth of Ethereum treasury companies and institutional holdings has supported price appreciation, he has warned of two key risks associated with sustained institutional accumulation. First, excessive institutional dominance could crowd out users and core developers who are committed to decentralization, leading to gradual community erosion. Second, institutional pressure could influence technical decisions in ways that diverge from Ethereum’s long-term roadmap.

At this year’s Devconnect conference, Vitalik issued a notable warning on cryptographic security. He cautioned that advances in quantum computing could potentially compromise elliptic curve cryptography before the 2028 United States presidential election, and urged Ethereum to transition to quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms within the next four years.

On emerging applications such as prediction markets, Vitalik has advocated the use of distributed oracle systems to reduce the risk of coordinated manipulation and single points of failure.

Taken together, Vitalik’s stance reflects an ongoing dialogue between crypto-native principles and institutional realities. His objective is to ensure that Ethereum can function as global financial infrastructure while preserving its foundational commitments to decentralization, neutrality, and experimental openness.

6. Kim Jong Un: Levying the Crypto World

Beneath the polished surface of cryptocurrency institutionalization in 2025, a less visible force from the Korean Peninsula has been reshaping the global risk profile of digital assets.

Multiple hacking groups linked to North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, including Lazarus Group, APT38, and Kimsuky, have increasingly shifted away from traditional political espionage toward economically driven and highly systematic cyber operations.

In 2025, these groups demonstrated notable technical sophistication. In February, a North Korean-linked hacking unit attacked Bybit, stealing approximately $1.5 billion in digital assets. In November, South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, suffered a breach that resulted in losses of roughly $30 million.

Beyond direct attacks, North Korean operatives also expanded their use of identity falsification to infiltrate crypto companies from within. Investigations revealed that an estimated 30% to 40% of job applications received by some crypto firms were suspected to originate from North Korean agents seeking employment access to internal systems and sensitive infrastructure.

According to tracking reports released at the end of 2025 by Chainalysis and TRM Labs, North Korean hackers stole an estimated $2.02 billion in crypto assets over the course of the year.

An assessment by a United Nations panel of experts concluded that approximately 60% of these assets were used to evade international sanctions and fund nuclear weapons programs. Around 30% was allocated to maintaining regime stability, while the remaining 10% was reinvested into upgrading cyberattack infrastructure.

For decades, the international community has relied on financial sanctions to restrict North Korea’s access to foreign currency. The rise of cryptocurrencies has fundamentally altered the dynamics of this strategy by introducing an open, borderless financial layer that is far more difficult to contain.

In this context, North Korea’s cyber operations represent an extreme form of state-level crypto finance. Rather than relying on taxation, trade, or capital markets, value is extracted directly from the global financial system through sustained cyber exploitation.

This reality serves as a stark warning to the broader industry. Once cryptocurrencies evolve into global infrastructure, they inevitably become embedded within state-level competition and geopolitical conflict, carrying risks that extend far beyond markets and technology alone.

7. Elon Musk: The Face of the Founder-Centric Era

As cryptocurrency moves into its institutional phase, Elon Musk has become a symbol of a defining shift: the growing dominance of individual authority over market behavior.

On August 14, 2025, media reports revealed that SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings had surpassed $1 billion in value. By contrast, Tesla had earlier liquidated roughly 75% of its Bitcoin position near market lows, forfeiting significant upside. The contrast underscored Musk’s uneven yet highly consequential influence across corporate crypto strategies.

Musk’s impact extends far beyond Bitcoin. Despite largely refraining from active Dogecoin promotion throughout 2025, his presence alone continued to move markets. A single repost referencing the so-called “green octopus” was enough to spark abrupt, short-lived rallies across meme tokens in the Solana ecosystem.

In the first half of the year, Musk also stepped directly into politics, taking the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His tenure quickly escalated into a public confrontation with President Trump over the “Great and Beautiful Act,” culminating in Musk announcing plans to form the America Party. The standoff ultimately gave way to reconciliation, after which Musk retreated from politics and refocused on his businesses.

The defining moment of the second half of 2025 came when Tesla shareholders approved Musk’s compensation package, valued at up to $1 trillion, with over 75% support. If fully realized, it would make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

The significance of this decision goes beyond compensation. It effectively binds Tesla’s valuation, strategy, brand, and technological trajectory to the authority of a single individual. This founder-centric model is increasingly familiar in crypto, where many protocols depend on personal credibility, narrative control, and concentrated influence rather than distributed governance.

The world is entering an era of strong individuals, where personal authority has become a primary driver of both value creation and market volatility. This stands in direct tension with the decentralization ideals on which crypto was originally built.

8. Justin Sun: Gaming the System

In March 2025, Justin Sun appeared on the cover of Forbes. He was described as "the crypto billionaire who helped the Trump family generate $400 million in gains."

His actions throughout the year reinforced that shift. In April, Sun injected $456 million to stabilize TrueUSD(TUSD) and avert a depeg. That same month, Canary Capital filed an application for a staked TRX ETF. By June, TRON completed a reverse-merger listing via an investment bank linked to the Trump family. In July, Sun spent $28 million to become the youngest Chinese commercial astronaut

The most notable transformation in 2025, however, was not transactional but reputational. On Chinese platforms such as Zhihu and Xiaohongshu, Sun’s earlier lectures and public remarks resurfaced and circulated widely. Clips from as far back as 2016, in which he urged audiences to buy Tesla and Bitcoin, or argued against marriage and home ownership before 30 in favor of aggressive capital accumulation, were reinterpreted with fresh hindsight.

Views once dismissed as mere “attention seeking” are now being reassessed under radically different market conditions. On Zhihu, one widely circulated comment captured this shift succinctly: “Justin Sun embodies a maritime civilization mindset. He embraces uncertainty, refuses the safety of walls or islands, and instead seeks equilibrium amid storms. He re-evaluates all value systems, aligns with no external standard of order, good, or evil, and stands as a true chaotic neutral - loyal only to his own will to power.”

This reversal in perception reflects a deeper anxiety shared by younger generations. Following prescribed paths and playing by established rules no longer guarantees stability or upward mobility. For many, the result is a quiet but persistent sense of disillusionment.

Against this backdrop, Justin Sun appears unchanged. He remains someone who understands the system and knows how to work within it. Often described, half-jokingly, as “finding the loophole,” he has repeatedly aligned his actions with the rhythm of the era, moving decisively at critical moments.

9. Brian Armstrong: Building Compliant Crypto Infrastructure

Brian Armstrong, founder and CEO of Coinbase, offered a clear example in 2025 of how crypto companies can reposition themselves amid institutionalization.

At the start of the year, Armstrong publicly supported the creation of a US national Bitcoin strategic reserve through Coinbase’s official blog. On January 21, speaking at the World Economic Forum, he argued that full US leadership support for cryptocurrencies would significantly increase capital inflows into the sector. Just days later, on January 25, he went further, predicting that Bitcoin could surpass gold’s $18 trillion market capitalization before 2030.

On March 20, Coinbase released a validator report revealing that the company operated roughly 120,000 validator nodes and had staked 3.84 million ETH, representing about 11.42% of all staked Ether. This made Coinbase the largest single node operator on the Ethereum network and elevated it to the role of critical infrastructure provider within the ecosystem.

On May 8, Coinbase announced plans to acquire Deribit, a Dubai-based crypto derivatives exchange, for $2.9 billion. The deal included $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase Class A stock, with the stated aim of building the world’s most comprehensive crypto derivatives platform.

The data breach that occurred later that month highlighted Brian Armstrong’s crisis management capabilities. After hackers accessed the personal data of approximately 70,000 users and demanded a $20 million Bitcoin ransom, Armstrong publicly refused to pay. Instead, he committed $20 million to establish a “bounty fund” to identify the perpetrators and pledged to compensate affected users. Although the decision was expected to cost between $180 million and $400 million, it preserved the company’s principles and long-term reputation.

Midyear, Coinbase hosted the State of Crypto Summit 2025. At the event, Armstrong announced a series of enterprise-focused initiatives, including Coinbase Business, Coinbase Payments, and DEX trading on Coinbase. He emphasized the role of stablecoins, particularly USDC, in addressing real enterprise-level pain points such as lowering settlement costs, accelerating cross-border payments, and expanding financial accessibility.

In November, Coinbase announced plans to relocate its corporate registration from Delaware to Texas. Armstrong publicly praised Texas as a state supportive of economic freedom and crypto innovation. The move was not merely a tax or corporate law decision, but a clear signal of alignment with pro-crypto political forces.

Armstrong's strategy reflects the defining characteristics of successful crypto enterprises in the institutional era. Operating within regulatory frameworks, building industry infrastructure, and maintaining sensitivity to innovation must happen simultaneously.

10. Peter Thiel: Infrastructure as Strategy

The investment moves made by Peter Thiel, cofounder of PayPal, in 2025 illustrated how a top-tier Silicon Valley investor can build systematic advantages within the decentralized crypto ecosystem.

In July 2025, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing sent shockwaves through the industry. A company affiliated with Thiel quietly acquired a 9.1% stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies, becoming the largest shareholder of the Ethereum treasury firm.

One month later, Bullish, which Thiel had invested in back in 2021, successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading under the ticker BLSH, Bullish debuted at an issue price of $37, opened around $90, surged as much as 170% intraday, and still closed up approximately 84%. Its market capitalization exceeded $13 billion.

Beyond asset ownership, Thiel also backed the creation of Erebor Bank, a financial institution designed to serve crypto companies and reportedly planning to hold stablecoins. In parallel, through his control of CoinDesk, he exerted significant influence over industry narratives and public discourse.

In his book Zero to One, Thiel repeatedly argues that competition is for losers, while monopolies generate excess returns. Applied to a decentralized world, monopoly power emerges through control of foundational infrastructure. When transactions depend on stablecoins, control over the stablecoin protocol effectively becomes modern-day “minting power.”

A review of Founders Fund’s portfolio makes Peter Thiel’s strategic intent unmistakable. The fund has largely avoided decentralized applications, taken limited exposure to GameFi, and maintained minimal involvement in NFTs. Instead, its focus has remained on foundational layers of the crypto stack, including Layer 2 scaling solutions such as Caldera, compliance-oriented infrastructure like Paxos, derivatives protocols such as Avantis, and stablecoin networks like Ubyx.

In November, the DeFi perpetual DEX Lighter raised $68 million in a funding round led by Founders Fund. The round valued Lighter at $1.5 billion, officially conferring unicorn status. Through these positions, Thiel is methodically assembling a comprehensive crypto financial empire.

More recently, Thiel has voiced a cautious outlook on Bitcoin in media interviews. He argued that once Bitcoin became absorbed by institutions such as BlackRock and government actors, its upside potential was materially constrained, even if volatility remained elevated. He described Bitcoin’s future trajectory as “uneven and volatile,” noting that while opportunities persist, the era of tenfold or hundredfold returns has likely passed.

Thiel’s approach reflects the long-term mindset of a top-tier investor. By securing infrastructure-level advantages during the chaotic early phase of an emerging industry, he aims to establish durable influence across the entire ecosystem.

Conclusion

Looking back from the end of 2025, we have witnessed profound change.

This was the year Wall Street giants incorporated Bitcoin into their portfolios, the United States government established a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and stablecoins became core infrastructure for international payments. Cryptocurrencies completed a striking transformation from an "anti-system tool" into a central pillar of the system itself.

More importantly, 2025 exposed the complex flow of power between old and new worlds. Traditional financial elites like Tom Lee paved the way for institutional capital. Political leaders like Donald Trump participated directly and extracted economic value. Native crypto builders like CZ and Vitalik Buterin adapted to institutional demands while attempting to preserve innovation and experimentation.

This institutionalization raises deeper questions. When decentralized technologies are adopted at scale by centralized institutions, and when individual authority embodied by figures like Elon Musk and CZ can meaningfully influence "decentralized" markets, are we moving toward greater concentration of power?

The impact of cryptocurrencies now extends far beyond technology and finance. They have become embedded in geopolitics and cultural influence. From Wall Street to the White House, from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen, a new power structure is emerging.

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