CoinDesk begins releasing its annual Most Influential List this week, honoring the individuals and groups we believe have had the greatest impact on the cryptocurrency industry over the past 11-plus months. U.S. President Donald Trump joins other individuals pushing for cryptocurrency legislation and becomes the first individual to be recognized by CoinDesk.
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narrative
U.S. President Donald Trump has arguably had the biggest impact on the cryptocurrency industry and discussions surrounding it this year. Since returning to office earlier this year, he has signed executive orders, pressured Congress to advance legislation and generated billions of dollars worth of paper profits from affiliated crypto businesses.
why this is important
CoinDesk’s Most Influential looks back on the past year and chronicles those who have had the greatest impact on the industry. This year, policymakers—especially U.S. policymakers—occupy a very important position.
break it down
Last Monday, Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger said the industry would control the narrative around cryptocurrencies if it could speak with a unified voice. “The public narrative is important and we will lead it,” she said. The goal makes sense; the industry has argued for years that public narratives surrounding cryptocurrencies — that they are primarily useful tools for money laundering and other criminal activity, that markets are unstable, and that cryptocurrencies still lack legitimate use cases — are incorrect. Trump and his family’s involvement in cryptocurrency illustrates another new narrative the industry must contend with: that it is a useful tool for profiting from the most powerful people in the world.
Follow the links below to learn more, along with some of our other picks for the most impactful content of the year, and keep an eye out for the rest of the list, which will be released next week.
Donald Trump
Don Jr., Eric and Barron Trump
french mountain
Bill Hagerty
Beau Hines
Paul Ardoino
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
david sachs
Brandon and Howard Lutnick
Ross Ulbricht
Shane Copeland
Lazarus Group
As of press time, it was unclear when the Senate would hold a markup hearing on the market structure legislation. As a reminder, there will likely be two people: one from the Senate Banking Committee and one from the Senate Agriculture Committee working on their respective versions of the bill.
Democrats laid out their list of priorities in a document distributed earlier this week; many of the points in the document are similar to items in a framework Democrats previously shared in September, although this week’s document said Democratic negotiators had accepted some parts of the existing discussion draft.
Some sticking points include provisions dealing with financial stability, market integrity and ethics — implicitly pointing to the cryptocurrency interests of President Donald Trump and his family. It’s unclear whether that last point will hinder negotiations. Sen. Cynthia Loomis was particularly controversial earlier this week when she said she had been in talks with the White House.
Still, time is running out on the congressional calendar to make any real progress in 2025. As of Thursday afternoon, no hearings had been scheduled, though Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott’s office did note that he had met with the CEOs of Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
“We have made real progress on passing digital asset market structure legislation that will help solidify the United States as the cryptocurrency capital of the world. For months, my colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee and I have received valuable feedback from the banking and crypto industries. I welcome the opportunity to have constructive conversations about increasing financial inclusion for more Americans while protecting investors and ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of financial innovation,” Scott said in a statement on Thursday.
this week
- As of press time, it has not been confirmed that the Senate Banking Committee or Agriculture Committee will hold a markup hearing on their respective draft cryptocurrency market structure legislation, although there are rumors that the banking industry will hold some kind of hearing this coming Wednesday or Thursday. As a reminder, a markup hearing is a critical step before a bill advances in Congress.
- The Senate is also scheduled to vote sometime next week on 97 of Donald Trump’s nominees to confirm them to various positions, including CFTC chairman nominee Mike Selig and FDIC chairman nominee Travis Hill.
If you have any ideas or questions about what I should cover next week, or if you have any other feedback you’d like to share, please feel free to email me: [email protected] Or find me at Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.
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See you next week!
