Top Blockchain experts you *really* should follow

Maybe it’s who I’m following on Twitter and RSS (I keep it old-school), but I’ve been seeing less news, opinion pieces, and sensational articles about Blockchain. I’m not in a dire need to always be in-the-loop about a technology that I, personally, don’t work with, but being completely out of the loop isn’t an option for me. So, I set a goal to start following more blockchain development and blockchain technology publications, news sources, and people. This post here is (obviously) about the people I think you should be keeping an eye on in the realm of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Peter Smith

Here’s a person that was in-the-loop on most (if not all) things blockchain before it became cool. In 2011 he launched a service called Blockchain.info with Nicholas Carey. Three years later his project was funded with $30.5m by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Mosaic Ventures. This made Blockchain.info get the largest investment in cryptocurrency infrastructure at that time.

Peter Smith is now the CEO of Blockchain Inc, a finch company that works with over 3 million users worldwide, simplifying their digital transactions.

He’s a pioneer of the technology, and you can follow him on twitter at @onemorepeter

Winklevoss Brothers

A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.

And if the Winklevoss brothers famously weren’t aboard the billion-dollar Facebook train, they were the first business people in the world to accumulate a billion dollars in capital specifically in Bitcoin.

Obviously this kind of bitcoin capital is going to make you a prime target of hackers. To keep their tokens and keys safe, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss reportedly printed them, cut them up, and locked each segment in separate cells across all 50 states.

Look, they were there with Facebook and they were there with Bitcoin. Even if you’re not into cryptocurrency, you should at least keep an eye on them to know what their next venture is. You can do that by following Cameron Winklevoss on Twitter at @winklevoss.

Vitaliy Buterin

BitCoin is a big deal, but so is Ethereum. Vitaliy Buterin is the creator of Etherium, a cryptocurrency that is second only to BitCoin (currently capitalized at $22 billion).

But the valuation of the cryptocurrency is only a small fragment of Buterin’s contribution to blockchain technology. Etherium is also driving the blockchain-tech world forward by being the go-to blockchain for smart contracts. In just a few years the cryptocurrency has grown into a platform that is actively used by the world’s largest companies and governments.

You can follow Vitaliy Buterin on Twitter at @vitalikbuterin

John McAfee

McAfee is the founder of MGT Capital and the creator of the McAfee Security anti-virus. As a person who has made a name for himself in the world of cyber-security it makes sense that he’s would show interest int he secure end decentralized world of blockchain.

McAfee is known today for his mining activities, saying that Blockchain is more predictable than the US Dollar, and leaving his position at MGT to dedicate his full attention and time to cryptocurrencies.

You can follow him on Twitter at @officialmcafee

Changpeng Zhao

Third place in Forbes’ 2018 list of The Richest People in Cryptocurrency. With a product that has only been on the market for less than a year. Which nevertheless has attracted more than 6 million users.

Changing Zhao is the creator of the Binance crypto-exchange services, which can conduct more around 1.5 million transactions every second. To date, Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform.

Follow Changpeng Zhao on twitter: @cz_binance

Charlie Lee

Charlie Lee is one of the first crypto enthusiasts who started out his activities publicly. Unlike some other cryptocurrency creators *cough* Satoshi Nakamoto*cough* Lee was out there from the very beginning.

Lee created LiteCoin, is obviously an expert in blockchain technology, and willingly shares his valuable insights in the media and across social networks.

You can follow him on twitter at @satoshilite

Satoshi Nakamoto

The mysterious creator of cryptocurrency. This person (if they are indeed just one person) created BitCoin and was likely the actual first BitCoin billionaire. People want to put a face to the title of “First X Billionaire”. Especially if it’s two identical faces of the Winklevoss twins. But it’s safe to assume that Nakamoto was the first.

If you find Nakamoto on twitter, please let me know at @SandraQArea