The inclusion of five figures related to blockchain technology in Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list is a positive note for the space. That being the case, the magazine released a new Ledger 40 Under 40, which only covers people involved in the field. The separate list obviously features the five who made it into the general one, but also expands to honor some of the less popular major players.
Most of the people on the list would probably be familiar to crypto enthusiasts, with the top three spots being occupied by Brian Armstrong (founder of leading US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase), Vitalik Buterin (creator of Ethereum) and Jihan Wu (one of the most influential miners and a driving factor behind the Bitcoin Cash fork).
Another pair of well-known names are the Winklevoss twins at No.8, who were consulting the US regulatory bodies when drafting the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) BitLicense that regulates crypto activities in the state and are behind the Gemini crypto exchange (although you may likely associate them with Facebook’s creation and the surrounding controversy).
Pavel Durov, No.10 (CEO and cofounder of Telegram) also makes this list, as the app he created serves a major role for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in particular. He is one of the few people on the list who may not seem that related to the underlying technology, but his impact is still very significant.
The female presence on the list is also very strong, with 15 out of the 40. The three highest rated ones are Rana Yared, No.6 (managing director at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)), Amber Baldet, No. 11 (formerly the head of the blockchain initiative at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), now co-founder of Clovyr) and Kathleen Breitman, No.13 (CEO and cofounder of Tezos).
While some of the crypto purists may disagree with the order or the fact some figures are related to Wall Street banks, the Ledger 40 Under 40 is still a welcome sign. If nothing else, it will definitely bring some attention back to the space.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
