Cointelegraph kicks off the final three spots in its annual Top 100 list, revealing each of the top 3 individually. Taking the No. 3 spot is Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. Zhao leads one of the crypto industry’s largest organizations, Binance — a crypto exchange that has its hand in several other industry endeavors. Zhao took the No. 51 spot on Cointelegraph’s 2022 Top 100 list. The CEO has talked favorably about decentralization, despite Binance being a major player in the centralized crypto exchange space.

DISCOVER COINTELEGRAPH’S TOP 100 IN CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN 2023

CZ had a big year in 2022, finding himself caught up in industry turmoil during the collapse of crypto giant FTX. Just before FTX imploded, Binance started to offload roughly $600 million worth of FTX Token (FTT) — FTX’s native token. Binance also faced regulatory challenges in 2022. The exchange has various regional offices but is yet to publicly reveal an official headquarters and commit to a specific jurisdiction, attracting questions from regulators in different jurisdictions.

In recent weeks, Cointelegraph has unveiled its list of the most impactful players in the crypto space,  publishing the compilation in batches of 10 and counting down from 100. Each person, entity or concept holding a position on the list comes with a profile and analysis of that player’s year ahead. In contrast to previous years, Cointelegraph included the most dastardly villains alongside heroes on its 2023 list, given their significant impact in the crypto and blockchain sector.

Cointelegraph has revealed 98 of the industry’s top movers and shakers so far, as voted for by readers and staff. The list includes BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes at No. 92; MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor at No. 14; concepts such as hardware wallets; organizations like the Central Bank of Nigeria; pseudonymous crypto personalities, such as Cobie; and an expansive selection of CEO’s, founders and more.

Next, Cointelegraph will reveal the No. 2 spot, followed by the big finale, completing the 2023 Top 100 people in crypto. Who will take the top spot? Stay tuned to find out!