As interest in Blockchain and its related technology continues to grow and more professionals enter the industry, which is rapidly becoming more complex and multifaceted, most people wonder where to start. Perhaps you have just a passing interest in the subject and want to spice up your Twitter feed with light information, or maybe you’re a fanatic who wants to confirm that you’re in on the latest Blockchain news.
Either way, here are 7 respected industry professionals who are active on social media and will enrich your understanding of Blockchain and cryptocurrency in different ways:
Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong is the Co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the hugely popular online currency exchange. Going into 2020, Coinbase is available in 33 countries, where users can use their fiat currency to purchase a wide array of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Armstrong Co-founded GiveCrypto, a non-profit that allows people to donate cryptocurrency to help people in need.
While his professional achievements alone make Armstrong someone to keep an eye on, he is also a Blogger on Medium, a contributor to Nakamoto, and his Twitter feed is an excellent place to keep up to date on the latest news in cryptocurrency.
Anthony Pompliano
A veteran of the United States Army, Anthony Pompliano served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and by 2014 he went on to work for social media household names Facebook and Snapchat, eventually going on to Co-found investment firm Morgan Creek Digital Assets in 2018.
Pompliano is well respected in the Blockchain world for his newsletter, Off the Chain, a daily email that he sends to investors about Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, providing his customers with the most up to date information available. While a full subscription to Off the Chain is paid, he does occasionally write posts that are free and open to the public, and his Twitter feed is updated frequently.
My rules of business: Build shit people want, never give up, avoid assholes, question assumptions, learn new ideas & always reward ambition
— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) November 13, 2016
Biser Dimitrov
Biser Dimitrov is an “Enterprise Blockchain Architect,” one of the pioneers in implementing Blockchain technology for use by large commercial enterprises. In addition to being an experienced developer, Dimitrov is also a gifted writer, and is a regular contributor to Forbes in their Crypto and Blockchain section, in addition to publishing the monthly Enterprise Blockchain Newsletter.
Dimitrov’s Forbes articles are an excellent resource, and he also maintains an active presence on Twitter and LinkedIn, regularly sharing insightful industry reports. His articles, and those he shares, are a great resource for anyone interested in Enterprise Blockchain and how Blockchain is transforming industry.
Laura Shin
Laura Shin has done it all: ESL teacher, freelance writer, producer, journalist, Senior Editor for Forbes, and now Podcaster. She is an expert in both communications and Blockchain technology, and has years of experience bringing the two together in her career.
While her written content and Ted Talk should be on anyone’s list to consume, I want to highlight her Podcasts for those who prefer listening over reading. She operates two Podcasts: Unchained, and Unconfirmed. The former is an hour long deep dive into a wide variety of topics in the Blockchain space, and the latter is a twenty minute weekly recap on the most important and relevant trends in Blockchain. Both are excellent and available on their website as well as all major streaming services.
In this Best of 2019 episode, I selected the clips that seemed most representative of what crypto was about this year, which I call, The Year Things Got Geopolitical. Enjoy, and Happy New Year, everyone! https://t.co/rWSOayH3d5
— Laura Shin (@laurashin) December 31, 2019
Sasha Backsht
Sasha Backsht has been involved in tech since the 1990s, building a reputation as a business analyst and team manager, and in 2017 he became the Chief Operating Officer of Blockgeeks, which aims to be the world’s leading Blockchain online education sources.
Blockgeeks hosts blog posts on topics in Blockchain, as well as offering a paid service for users who wish to dive deeper into learning about Blockchain, and even offers job placement assistance for Pro students who wish to work in the industry. Backsht’s personal Twitter is a treasure trove of information, frequently updated with the latest Blockgeeks articles, job opportunities, and updates that he finds newsworthy in the Blockchain community.
E-money versus Stablecoins – One and the same thing? https://t.co/xglsUrLwDV via @Blockgks
— Sasha Baksht (@SashaBaksht) January 7, 2020
Vitalik Buterin
Russian born Vitaly Dmitriyevich “Vitalik” Buterin began his career in Blockchain as a blogger, and at the end of 2011 co-founded Bitcoin Magazine. However, Buterin is famous for his other career as the inventor and co-founder of Etherium, a Blockchain designed to allow applications to be built using scripting, which was not feasible on the Bitcoin Blockchain.
While Etherium has been a source of controversy for many in the Blockchain community, it is indisputable that Buterin is a Blockchain visionary, and at only 25 years old it is expected that he has many more contributions to make to its development. Buterin is very active on Twitter, often sharing his thoughts about current events and happenings in the Blockchain community. He is also a contributor to Nakamoto.
What is the more important goal for human progress?
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 25, 2019
Nick Szabo
There is no greater living legend in the Blockchain industry than Nick Szabo. Best known for his work as a cryptographer, Szabo is a computer scientist by training, and way back in 1998 he attempted to create the first cryptocurrency, Bit Gold.
When Bitcoin came onto the scene in 2009, it was created anonymously, the white paper written by a mysterious individual who wrote under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. While Szabo has vehemently denied it, many people have suspected that Szabo is the true architect of Bitcoin.
Regardless, Nick Szabo’s work has been hugely influential to the Blockchain community. His blog, while not frequently updated in the past few years, contains a gold mine of his knowledge on various subjects, and he maintains an active presence on Twitter.
Such confidence in Bitcoin is splendid, but a 94,500 BTC tx tempts fate. If recipient can make that much from reversing the tx, they can afford to run a 51% attack for more than 40 days. Big if & very visible, but security here depends more on trust & less on the protocol itself. https://t.co/KQjH8RiAck
— Nick Szabo (@NickSzabo4) September 6, 2019
Blockchain has attracted some of the brightest and most intuitive minds in the world, and as such this list is by no means comprehensive. As you see who these people are re-tweeting and what they are writing or talking about, you will be introduced to many more industry movers and shakers. This list will provide you with different perspectives from beautiful minds that are hard at work to make the world a more secure, decentralized place. The voices on this list are positive, helpful, and deeply engaged in the Blockchain community.