Forbes 2025: Nine Crypto Talents Among The Best Young Financiers

Crypto entrepreneurs are massively establishing themselves in the prestigious Forbes ranking of young finance talents. Out of the 30 available spots in the finance category of the “30 Under 30” 2025, nine are occupied by founders of crypto companies.

A new generation of crypto entrepreneurs in the spotlight

The “Forbes 30 Under 30”, an annual ranking that distinguishes the 30 most promising entrepreneurs and innovators under 30 in each sector, has just unveiled its 2025 selection of North American talents. In the finance category, 14 founders from nine different blockchain companies stood out, representing nearly a third of the awardees.

Among them, ten men and four women embody the future of decentralized financial innovation. The notable presence of Shayne Coplan, 26, founder of Polymarket, particularly highlights this trend. Indeed, the decentralized betting platform made a splash this year by allowing predictions on the American elections.

Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are particularly well represented in this 2025 cohort. The co-founders of Ostium Labs, Kaledora Kiernan-Linna and Marco Antonio Ribeiro, are joined by their counterparts from Osmosis, Sunny Aggarwal and Dev Ojha. Cindy Leow from Drift Labs completes this excellence in the field of DEX.

A consistency that masks shadow areas

The 2025 ranking highlights the diversity of innovations in the crypto ecosystem. Beyond decentralized exchanges, many innovative projects are represented. Cortex Labs, founded by Soroush Ghodsi Boushehri, Stefan Stokic, and Jake Sylvestre, is developing blockchains capable of integrating artificial intelligence. Uma Roy, with her startup Succinct, democratizes access to zero-knowledge proofs for developers.

The tokenization of intellectual property also finds its place with Story, co-founded by Jason Zhao. The Omni Network, a multichain protocol, was created by Austin King and Tyler Tarsi.

While the crypto presence in the ranking remains stable compared to 2024, it does not reach the heights of 2021, where 21 blockchain innovators were distinguished. That year will still be marked by the controversial presence of figures who are now fallen from the industry.

Caroline Ellison, currently incarcerated, and Sam Bankman-Fried, sentenced to 20 years in prison for massive fraud, were among the awardees.

These successes and failures illustrate the volatile nature of the crypto sector, where innovation sometimes coexists with excesses. This ranking nevertheless seems to highlight a new generation of more mature entrepreneurs, focused on developing sustainable blockchain infrastructures and the real adoption of decentralized technologies.