The next crypto figures to watch in 2024

The crypto market has remained consistently vibrant in the recent past. There have been many developments, including changes in coin prices, regulations, and also new innovations. Another interesting point is the Figures and the old and new organizations that are influencing the market.





However, the cryptocurrency market has continued to operate, leading to new interesting figures in the market. This article lists important individuals and organizations that will play critical roles according to Messari's Crypto Theses for 2024.

Ten fascinating individuals and organizations in the cryptocurrency industry in 2024

Spot ETF: Larry Fink from BlackRock and Cathie Wood from ARK Invest

• BlackRock, a renowned asset management company, and its entry into the cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund space. By the end of 2023, BlackRock has launched the Spot Bitcoin ETF. It is currently awaiting SEC approval of the Spot Ethereum ETF.
• Significant announcements like the SEC's approval of BlackRock's Spot Bitcoin ETF are viewed as a step forward for the cryptocurrency sector. Larry Fink believed that Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum ETF could usher in a new era of financial innovation.
• When Lary Fink is mentioned, Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is also taken into account. It is assumed that ARK was the first company to submit a request to the SEC to open a Spot ETF.
• Since the approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF in early January 2024, the competition between the two major players has remained interesting.

Stablecoin: Jeremy Allaire and Dante Disparte from Circle

• Circle is one of the companies being watched so far. Even though USDC has a second place market share, behind Tether, it has a significant amount of market influence.
• In Messari's report, Circle would make a significant profit if the US approved the stablecoin-related legal provision. Dante Disparte and Jeremy Allaire are two individuals who might be asked about the likelihood of this scenario occurring. With their legal knowledge and background in the financial sector, they will be able to assist stablecoin in moving forward.
• In addition, Circle has recently disclosed the status of its projects and has been focusing on its IPO in 2024. The project involves establishing a long-term partnership with Coinbase while collaborating with nations across the globe, such as Japan (Asia), Chile (Latin America), and the Philippines (Southeast Asia).

Crypto Ecosystem Support: Kristin Smith from Blockchain Association and Michael Carcaise from Fairshake PAC

• The Blockchain Association is a non-profit organization run by Kristin Smith. It serves as a hub for significant figures, investors, organizations, and public and private institutions involved in the cryptocurrency space. These groups aim to foster the growth of the US cryptocurrency ecosystem as well as create and promote the policies necessary for the industry to succeed.
• During the end of 2023, only BA members were invited to attend a policy summit. This event brought together US leaders, law issuers, lawyers, and representatives of BA members to discuss laws, policies, and the future of digital assets. This was another important step for the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
• Similarly, Michael Carcaise's Fairshake PAC will assist the cryptocurrency sector by dispatching staff to resolve legislation and policy issues in the US parliament, as well as in other related areas.
• Fairshake's support for the cryptocurrency industry has gained 17 out of 18 Senate seats.

Anti: Elizabeth Warren, the US senator

• When discussing influential people in the cryptocurrency industry, Elizabeth Warren is always mentioned. It is said that she consistently opposes the cryptocurrency market.
• Elizabeth Warren's primary focus is the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. This act may pressure companies involved in cryptocurrency to gather and store user data, raising the possibility that data may be harmed. In the end, companies will have no choice but to leave the US and return to traditional financial services.
• As the news revealed, Elizabeth Warren's true intention was to support Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDC, replacing cryptocurrencies with CBDC in the US market.

Positive for Crypto: Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, and Vivek Ramaswamy

• Three men renowned for their skill at debating cryptocurrency issues include Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, and Vivek Ramaswamy. There is constant visibility on social media and in the news about their activities.
• Aside from his work in the aerospace and automotive industries, Elon Musk is generally considered a critic that constantly exists on his platform X. Musk, however, has gained prominence in the cryptocurrency space after launching Dogecoin and creating the X public space.
• One of the most prominent cryptocurrency supporters in the public eye is Tucker Carlson, the newsreader who left Fox News in 2023. For example, Carlson discussed Biden's government's handling of cryptocurrency.
• Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the fascinating individuals who consistently supports cryptocurrency, shared his thoughts on the growth of the crypto ecosystem by proposing the Three Freedoms of Crypto Policy. In 2024, he will run for US president as a Republican.

Investor Partner: Michael Sonnenshein and Craig Salm of Grayscale

• Grayscale is a global leader in cryptocurrency asset management. The company assists in the management of investments in cryptocurrency and ETFs under the leadership of Michael Sonnenshein, CEO, and Craig Salm, CLO.
• Due to Gemini and Genesis' circumstances, Grayscale has undergone significant changes. Meanwhile, Grayscale has risen to the top among Spot Bitcoin ETF issuers in terms of Bitcoin holdings following the SEC's approval of the fund.
• Grayscale has become more prevalent over time. At the end of the previous year, this company managed assets valued at over 3.5 billion USD.

Impactful and Entertaining Investors: Nic Carter and Matt Walsh from Castle Island Ventures

• Nic Carter and Matt Walsh, two individuals recently involved in the cryptocurrency space, voiced their criticisms and opinions about US government or central authority policies and projects.
• Carter expressed his vision as a general partner of Castle Island Ventures through his writings, including his opinions on Bitcoin and mining as well as his report on changing regulations for stablecoins. He also attacked the Biden administration's Choke Point 2.0 initiative, claiming it would suppress cryptocurrencies.
• Walsh has also expressed his opinion about the SEC-approved Prometheus. He had doubts about Prometheus' background after it was registered with the SEC. As well, he was concerned about SAB 121, an SEC regulation backed by Elizabeth Warren and Gary Gensler that forced Wall Street firms to stop supporting cryptocurrencies.

Real-World Assets: Lucas Vogelsang of Centrifuge, Denelle Dixon of Stellar and Christine Moy of Apollo

• There are three strong players in the Real-World Asset (RWA) market, including Centrifuge, led by Lucas Vogelsang, Stellar, led by Denelle Dixon, and Apollo, led by Christine Moy.
• Centrifuge was one of the first platforms to select the RWA market. It is a significant player because it offers a Borrow-Lend-Vote service that accepts tangible assets. Centrifuge currently holds the largest market share for credit for private loans in addition to having the highest token market cap.
• Stellar is a company that facilitates the development of a more robust financial ecosystem by bridging decentralized networks with the real world. Financial institutions show interest and support. Franklin Templeton Investment, for example, thought Stellar was intriguing and should be utilized as a trial market for tokenized Treasury.
• Christine Moy, a former J.P. Morgan blockchain team leader, is the head of investment consulting firm Apollo. It has projects called Project Guardian in partnership with Onyx by J.P. Morgan that are backed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide Proof of Concept for tokenizing the assets and helping with the investment.

Social Apps: Dan Romero of Farcaster and 0x Racer of friend.tech

• What would happen if X banned all cryptocurrency posts? The author of Crypto Theses for 2024, Ryan Selkis, thought Farcaster would provide a new platform for people to share their views. Farcaster, an Ethereum-based decentralized social network resembling Reddit and Twitter, was created by Dan Romero. Since Farcaster is in the public domain, users can independently switch between applications and create applications to read and write data.
• Friend.tech deserves credit for SocialFi's advancement because of its appealing business model, which allows users to connect their accounts with X accounts and charge money to communicate with potential matches. X, OnlyFan, and other cryptocurrency figures have all signed up with friend.tech. Owners of friend.tech accounts can make educated guesses about how much money they will make from letting others join and chat with them because the more people they converse with, the more valuable their account will seem.

The DeFi Gang(s)

• According to Crypto Theses for 2024, the most interesting group consisted of the founders from the 2022 DeFi Summer, whose creations have been long awaited for recognition.

Many more lists are expected to surface in this report, including those for Circle, Grayscale, BlackRock, and Musk. It is interesting to note that there are numerous other groups involved in various aspects of cryptocurrencies, such as investment management, regulatory laws, RWA, and new product lines that will be introduced to the market in the future.

It might be necessary for us to continue monitoring to see if any of the stars that are left out of this research turn out to be new, significant figures or if they are removed from the list of Crypto Theses for 2024.