Crypto Founders Represent 14 of 30 Honorees on Forbes 30 Under 30 List
Founders in the crypto sector gained recognition on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Finance List for 2025, released on December 4. This list features entrepreneurs shaping the future of finance across North America.
Nearly half of the finance category honorees hail from cryptocurrency and blockchain, with 14 individuals representing nine companies at the forefront of decentralized technologies.
Shayne Coplan, founder of Polymarket, is notable for his platform's decentralized prediction markets, which gained attention during the US presidential election for its market predictions. Despite federal scrutiny, Coplan’s work highlights the importance of decentralized systems in promoting transparent financial tools.
Other significant figures include Kaledora Kiernan-Linn and Marco Antonio Ribeiro, co-founders of Ostium Labs, and Sunny Aggarwal and Dev Ojha of Osmosis. Cindy Leow of Drift Labs also represented the decentralized exchange (DEX) sector.
Crypto Innovators Bridging Blockchain and AI
Pioneers integrating blockchain with artificial intelligence include Soroush Ghodsi Boushehri, Stefan Stokic, and Jake Sylvestre from Cortex Labs for their AI-enabled blockchain platforms. Tux Pacific was recognized for developing on-chain AI agents through Entropy. Austin King and Tyler Tarsi, co-founders of Omni Network, improved multichain decentralized app protocols.
Jason Zhao of Story advanced intellectual property tokenization, while Uma Roy of Succinct contributed to zero-knowledge proof programming.
Industry Leaders Encounter Banking Challenges
The crypto industry faces challenges in traditional finance, including "debanking," where crypto businesses lose access to banking services. Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz highlighted these issues, sharing experiences of startups having banking services revoked without justification.
Jeremy Kauffman, founder of LBRY, reported that both his personal and company accounts were closed without explanation. Joey Krug of Founders Fund described repeated de-banking incidents, reflecting systemic challenges in the crypto space.
Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, noted similar impacts on his company. Caitlin Long of Custodia Bank discussed her ongoing legal battle against the Federal Reserve, illustrating difficulties faced by innovators.
The crypto industry's presence on Forbes’ list underscores its influence in modern finance. While achievements in 2025 surpass those of 2024, when nine founders were featured, the industry has not yet regained the prominence it held in 2021, which included 21 blockchain leaders.
This year's list contrasts with that of 2021, which included now-controversial figures like Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, highlighting evolving regulatory challenges. However, this year's honorees reflect a renewed focus on innovation and integrity.