CoinDesk began rolling out its annual Most Influential List this week, recognizing the individuals and groups we believe had the biggest impact on the crypto industry over the past 11+ months. US President Donald Trump led the way as CoinDesk’s first person to be recognized, along with other figures driving crypto legislation.
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The narrative
US President Donald Trump has arguably had the biggest effect on the crypto industry and the discourse surrounding it this year. He has signed orders, pushed Congress to move forward with legislation, and generated billions of dollars in paper profits through affiliated crypto companies since taking office earlier this year.
Why it matters
CoinDesk’s Most Influential is by design a look back at the past year, noting those who have shaped the industry the most. And this year policy makers – especially American politicians – were very strongly represented.
To break it down
On Monday, Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger said the industry will control the narrative around crypto if it can speak with a unified voice. “The public narrative matters and we want to lead it,” she said. This goal makes sense; the industry has spent years arguing that the public narratives surrounding crypto—that it is primarily a useful tool for money laundering and other criminal activity, that markets are volatile, and that crypto continues to lack legitimate use cases—are wrong. Trump and his family’s involvement in crypto demonstrates another new narrative the industry has had to face: That it is a useful tool for the most powerful man in the world to profit from.
Read more and about some of our other picks for the year’s most influential at the links below, and keep an eye out for the rest of the list to be published in the coming week.
Donald Trump
Don Jr., Eric and Barron Trump
French Hill
Bill Hagerty
Bo Hines
Paolo Ardoino
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
David Sacks
Brandon and Howard Lutnick
Ross Ulbricht
Shayne Coplan
The Lazarus Group
As of press time, it is still unclear when exactly we might see the Senate hold a markup hearing on market structure legislation. As a reminder, there will likely be two: One from the Senate Banking Committee and another from the Senate Agriculture Committee for their respective versions of the bill.
Democrats laid out a list of their priorities in a document circulated earlier this week; many of the points in that document were similar to those from the framework Democrats had previously shared in September, though this week’s document said negotiating Democrats had accepted certain parts of the existing discussion draft.
Some of the issues include provisions on financial stability, market integrity and ethics – implicitly pointed at President Donald Trump and his family’s crypto interests. It is unclear whether the last point in particular can lead to negotiations. Earlier this week, Sen. Cynthia Lummis said she had been negotiating with the White House, and that point in particular had been contentious.
Still, time is running out on the congressional calendar for real progress to be made in 2025. No fixed hearing has yet been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, though Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott’s office noted that he had met with the CEOs of Bank of America, Citi and Wells Fargo.
“We are making real progress toward enacting legislation on digital asset structures that will help cement America’s role as the world’s crypto capital. For months, my colleagues and I on the Senate Banking Committee have received valuable feedback from across the banking and crypto industries. I welcome the opportunity to have constructive conversations about increasing financial inclusion for more Americans and remaining protected by America’s financial investors and America’s financial front. innovation,” Scott said in a statement Thursday.
This week
- As of press time, there is still no confirmation that either the Senate Banking or Agriculture Committees will be holding markup hearings on their respective draft crypto market structure legislation, although the Banking Department is rumored to be holding a hearing of some sort this coming Wednesday or Thursday. As a reminder, a markup hearing is a critical step before bills can advance in Congress.
- The Senate also plans to vote on a bloc of 97 of Donald Trump’s nominees to confirm them for various positions, including CFTC Chairman-nominee Mike Selig and FDIC Chairman-nominee Travis Hill, sometime this coming week.
If you have thoughts or questions about what I’ll be discussing next week or any feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.
You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.
See you next week!
