Cointelegraph has reached the No. 2 spot on its 2023 Top 100 list: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who had a significant impact in 2022 and is expected to continue influencing the crypto space in 2023. Sitting among a sizable list of other co-founders of the Ethereum blockchain, Buterin was the one who wrote its white paper.

DISCOVER COINTELEGRAPH’S TOP 100 IN CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN 2023

Ethereum has since gone on to become a dominant force in the crypto space, with two other co-founders also sitting high atop Cointelegraph’s 2023 Top 100 — Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood at No. 5 and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin at No. 15.

The Ethereum blockchain itself captured headlines in September 2022 due to the anticipation and completion of the Merge — an event that finalized its transition from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus. Carried out with help from Buterin and others, the transition to PoS means the blockchain should now require significantly less energy than it did with its previous PoW mining.

Cointelegraph has produced its Top 100 list every year since 2020, and Buterin has held a position on the list each year. He sat at No. 5 in 2020, fell to No. 12 in 2021, and then came in at No. 21 in 2022. This year, he is back and ranked higher than ever at No. 2.

Cointelegraph has now published its entire 2023 Top 100 list except for the No. 1 spot, from Digital Fashion at No. 100 to Buterin at No. 2. It has included all sorts of players, from entities and people to concepts. Any guesses on the No. 1 spot for the biggest industry driver? Find out soon.