Exactly one year ago, the combined market capitalization of all the cryptocurrencies out there peaked at an all-time high of $2.9 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Over the course of the last year, a market blood bath has taken place, wiping out nearly $2 trillion. Bitcoin In this historic year for cryptocurrencies, five crypto players stand out for having the most influence over the current market state of crypto, landing on the MarketWatch 50 list of the most influential people in markets<\/a>. Two of them, Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, and Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, were locked in a duel on Monday. Zhao said on Sunday<\/a> that Binance would sell its remaining tokens of FTX\u2019s FTT, with Bankman-Fried responding<\/a> that \u201ca competitor is trying to go after us with false rumors.\u201d It continues to be an eventful year for crypto and here are the five crypto players who have had the most influence on the current state of digital currencies. <\/p>\n In three years, Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he is known, has come out of nowhere and become the closest thing crypto has to a central banker. He built the world\u2019s second-largest centralized crypto exchange, FTX, and controls trading firm Alameda Research. In 2022, Bankman-Fried, 30, tried to prop up the digital currency market by making nearly $1 billion in commitments to crypto firms amid the crash. Anthony Scaramucci anointed him \u201cthe new John Pierpont Morgan\u201d and Bankman-Fried later bought a stake in Scaramucci\u2019s financial firm. He offered a $400 million credit facility bailout to crypto lending platform BlockFi and $485 million of credit support to crypto broker Voyager Digital, which ultimately filed for bankruptcy. FTX is buying Voyager\u2019s assets. Bankman-Fried even took a 7.6% stake in Robinhood Markets. Much of FTX\u2019s revenue is generated with leveraged offerings that are off limits in the U.S., but Bankman-Fried has been pushing for industry-friendly crypto regulations in the U.S. and worldwide. He hosted his own conference panel in April seated next to Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.<\/p>\n Changpeng Zhao controls the world\u2019s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, facilitating $70 billion of trading daily this year in more than 500 listed cryptocurrencies and leveraged products tied to them. Binance handles some two-thirds of the world\u2019s cryptocurrency trading that takes place through a centralized exchange. In many ways, the cryptocurrency market is now shaped by the man crypto-enthusiasts refer to as CZ. A coder with experience in both market-making and high-frequency trading, CZ has moved from China to Japan and Dubai since founding Binance in 2017. The company has no official headquarters and has offered access to leveraged derivatives that are illegal in many countries. But this year CZ has pursued a regulatory strategy that saw Binance win regulatory approval in France. He also had Binance invest $500 million in Elon Musk\u2019s takeover of Twitter.<\/p>\n Alex Mashinsky built a crypto lender that claimed 1.7 million customers and a peak of $20 billion in assets by paying interest rates as high as 17% APY on crypto deposits and lending out digital assets to other companies. Celsius Network emerged together with several other lightly regulated cryptocurrency companies that offered traditional banking services. But starting in June Celsius and at least four other firms halted all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts. Celsius filed for bankruptcy protection in July and the debacle put further pressure on cryptocurrency prices. As the situation at Celsius first became clear, Bitcoin plunged from $30,000 to $20,000 and the total market capitalization of digital currencies fell below $1 trillion for the first time since January 2021. Mashinsky quit the CEO position in September, leaving behind a smoldering wreck.<\/p>\n Born in South Korea and educated at Stanford University, Do Kwon cofounded Terraform Labs, which backed Terra, once among the most popular blockchains. Terra\u2019s stablecoin TerraUSD (now TerraClassicUSD), was supposed to trade one to one against U.S. dollars, but in May it fell off its peg and later traded close to zero. Luna, another cryptocurrency that backed TerraUSD, also crashed. A combined market capitalization of almost $50 billion of the two coins were wiped out in a week. To defend TerraUSD\u2019s peg, Luna Foundation Guard sold more than 80,000 bitcoin in its reserve, accelerating this year\u2019s selloff to the largest cryptocurrency. Terra\u2019s collapse was also a blow to several crypto companies and funds. Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, for example, lost more than $200 million from its investment in Luna and was unable to repay loans it took out from major crypto lenders, fueling an industry-wide credit crunch. Three Arrows has been ordered to be liquidated by a British Virgin Islands court. Kwon is under investigation in South Korea and Interpol has issued a \u201cred notice\u201d for his arrest.<\/p>\n The cofounder and former CEO of Three Arrows Capital, Su Zhu was at the center of this year\u2019s credit crunch in crypto and helped push digital currency prices down. His highly leveraged Singapore-based hedge fund managed some $10 billion at its peak and bet big on digital currencies like Luna that Zhu pushed on social media. When Luna and other coins crashed, Three Arrows failed to meet margin calls and collapsed into bankruptcy in June. Voyager Digital was one crypto platform that lent some $650 million to Three Arrows and itself filed for bankruptcy protection as a result. Digital Currency Group\u2019s Genesis crypto brokerage was owed $1.2 billion by Three Arrows when it failed. Zhu has been cagey about his whereabouts lately, but friends say he\u2019s laying low in Dubai.<\/p>\n
\n BTCUSD,
\n -1.91%<\/a>,<\/span>
\n the largest cryptocurrency, has plunged by some 70%, but has shown some impressive market resilience at the $20,000 range. <\/p>\nSam Bankman-Fried<\/h4>\n
\n <\/div>
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, was locked in yet another crypto controversy on Monday.<\/h4>\n
\n Bloomberg
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nChangpeng Zhao<\/h4>\n
\n <\/div>
Changpeng Zhao, chief executive officer of Binance.<\/h4>\n
\n Akio Kon\/Bloomberg via Getty Images
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nAlex Mashinsky<\/h4>\n
\n <\/div>
Alex Mashinsky, founder of bankrupt Celcius Network, helped accelerate this year\u2019s crypto sell-off.<\/h4>\n
\n Bloomberg
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDo Kwon<\/h4>\n
\n <\/div>
Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, played a significant role in the leveraged blow-ups that rocked crypto this year.<\/h4>\n
\n Bloomberg
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nSu Zhu<\/h4>\n
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Su Zhu, cofounder of Three Arrows Capital, lost an incredible amount of money in this year\u2019s crypto winter.<\/h4>\n
\n Juliana Tan
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nTO SEE THE ENTIRE MARKETWATCH 50 CLICK HERE<\/a><\/h4>\n