Hey, everyone, happy Friday and welcome to this special edition of Coin Desk Daily, where we take a look at the top 10 most influential people in crypto.

Today, CoinDesk released the final group of people for our most influential list. This is our 11th annual roundup of the 50 biggest names in crypto,

and it dives deep into a year of ups and downs for the industry and the people who had a hand in shaping it.

The top 10 names should come as no surprise to any of you who've been following the news this year.

Let's take a look.

Roman Storm, the tornado cash developers high-profile money laundering trial raised important

questions about whether developers can be held accountable for how criminals use their products.

And more broadly, whether crypto's legal gray areas will be addressed via legislation or piecemeal through an unfriendly court system.

Jeff Yan, the low-profile physics prodigy and founder of Hyper Liquid, quietly built a

dominant $308 billion volume decks with a team of just 11, proving that technical

precision can outcompete VC-backed hype.

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has made strides towards delivering on his promise of a crypto golden age by signing the landmark Genius Act into law and appointing pro-industry regulators, even as his administration faced intense scrutiny over the conflict of interest inherent in his family's crypto ventures.

Utility or privacy. The transparency of traditional blockchains

forces a difficult choice, break free from this limitation with midnight. Hayden Davis,

the Gen Z super villain defined the 2025 meme coin era by reportedly extracting $300 million

from retail traders, personifying financial nihilism through brazen schemes like the

infamous Libra token scandal.

Shane Copeland once mired in legal trouble that included federal probes and law enforcement

raids.

The polymarket founder and CEO emerged victorious in 2025, casting off regulatory scrutiny and

growing the prediction market he founded into a $9 billion betting empire.

Howlo Arduino.

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