The crypto landscape in North America is gaining recognition, with many young entrepreneurs making their mark. In the 2025 edition of the Forbes “30 Under 30” finance category, 14 founders from the crypto and blockchain sectors secured nearly a third of the available slots. This inclusion highlights the vibrant innovation and entrepreneurial spirit present within this rapidly evolving industry. Among the notable figures are ten men and four women, representing a significant presence in a highly competitive space.
One standout entry is Shayne Coplan, the 26-year-old founder of Polymarket, a decentralized betting platform that gained notable attention for its market predictions related to the U.S. elections. The platform allowed users to place bets on the electoral outcome, with Coplan noting that Polymarket was targeted by the FBI in what he described as politically motivated retaliation after the election.
Several co-founders of decentralized exchanges (DEX) also made the list. Kaledora Kiernan-Linna and Marco Antonio Ribeiro of Ostium Labs, as well as Sunny Aggarwal and Dev Ojha of Osmosis, were recognized for their contributions. Cindy Leow, a co-founder of Drift Labs, gained acknowledgment as well. The founding team of Cortex Labs, which focuses on integrating artificial intelligence into blockchain technology, also made an appearance.
Other notable inclusions were Tux Pacific of Entropy, focused on on-chain AI agents, and the co-founders of Omni Network, Austin King and Tyler Tarsi. Jason Zhao, from the intellectual property tokenization platform Story, and Uma Roy of Succinct, a company enhancing programming related to zero-knowledge proofs, also earned their spots.
This year’s representation mirrors that of the previous year, although it falls short of the industry’s peak in 2021, when Forbes highlighted 21 blockchain innovators. That year also saw the controversial inclusion of figures like Caroline Ellison and Sam Bankman-Fried, both of whom faced severe legal repercussions in the following years, serving as a stark reminder of the volatile nature of the crypto industry.
