since
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo used 10,000 bitcoins to buy two pizzas. Since then, Bitcoin has grown from an experiment for programming enthusiasts to a "major asset class" valued by global institutions, sovereign funds and even countries. Behind this is the continuous promotion of a group of key figures and institutions - some have been preaching for more than ten years, and some have introduced hundreds of billions of capital into BTC.
As the annual Pizza Day approaches, we look back at the key drivers of Bitcoin’s 16-year rise. This list evaluates their actual contribution to BTC's mainstream adoption from multiple core dimensions, and uses "star ratings" to intuitively present the far-reaching influence of each promoter.
The evaluation dimensions include:
Technical and conceptual contributions: whether it has promoted the technological progress or conceptual development of Bitcoin.
Market influence: Whether it has significantly influenced Bitcoin price or adoption through investments, products, or policies.
Community and Education: Whether to promote awareness of Bitcoin through media, speeches or community activities.
Persistence and reputation: Whether you will continue to promote Bitcoin in the long term and maintain a positive image in the industry.
Let us review together, who pushed Bitcoin from a "pizza voucher" to the top of the global asset today?
Protocol Blacksmith
Origin coordinates: Satoshi Nakamoto
Identity: Bitcoin founder Contribution dimension: White paper release, network launch, coding development Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭ (Hall of Honor)
The undisputed "creator", the one who planted the seeds of technology and ideas, directly enters the "Hall of Fame". Satoshi Nakamoto holds about 1.1 million bitcoins, accounting for about 5% of the total supply, and his "sleeping" assets provide a symbol of stability to the market. He spread the concept of Bitcoin through cryptography mailing groups in the early days, but retired after 2010.
Casey Rodarmor (Ordinals Protocol inventor)
Representative event: The Ordinals protocol was proposed in 2023, triggering a Bitcoin NFT craze Impact dimension: Opening the Pandora's box of Bitcoin's "non-monetary uses", enabling developers and new narratives Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Casey Rodarmor released the Ordinals protocol in early 2023, allowing users to engrave text, pictures and other information on the Bitcoin chain. It also led to the birth of new asset standards such as BRC-20, bringing new vitality to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Although this has caused great controversy in the Bitcoin community and some core developers believe that it "pollutes" the block space, it is undeniable that Ordinals broke the single narrative of Bitcoin and attracted the attention of a large number of developers, artists and capital.
Luke Dashjr (early BTC core developer)
Representative events: More than ten years of continuous participation in Bitcoin Core code maintenance and upgrades Impact dimensions: One of the most experienced core developers, the "gatekeeper" guarding the Bitcoin protocol
Star rating: ✭✭✭
Luke Dashjr is one of the earliest BTC core developers and is still active. He has been contributing to the Bitcoin Core code since 2011, was responsible for adding BIP 22 and 23 protocol support, and maintains the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals section on GitHub. He released BFG Miner in 2014, which has become one of the most widely used implementations of Bitcoin mining.
Adam Back (Blockstream Co-founder & CEO)
Representative events: Early cryptographer, inventor of Hashcash; later promoted the construction of infrastructure such as Bitcoin sidechain and Lightning Network Impact dimension: Dual preaching of concepts and technology Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Adam Back is one of the very few people who was named and paid tribute to in the Satoshi Nakamoto white paper. The Hashcash he invented is used in Bitcoin's proof-of-work mechanism and became one of the technical sources of the BTC consensus mechanism. He also promoted the development of key expansion and privacy tools such as Liquid sidechain and Lightning Network at Blockstream.
Roger Ver (Founder of Bitcoin.com)
Representative events: Early investment in blockchain startups; later leading the promotion of BCH fork Influence dimension: Early Bitcoin evangelist, but also the most controversial "splitter" Representative star rating: ✭✭✭
Roger Ver, known as "Bitcoin Jesus", was the most radical evangelist and investor in Bitcoin in its early days, and made significant contributions to its global popularity and the spread of technical concepts. In 2017, he supported the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fork and opposed Bitcoin Core's small block strategy, which caused the community to split and damaged his reputation.
Institutional Evangelist & Wall Street Guide
Michael Saylor (Co-founder of Strategy)
Representative event: Investing corporate assets in Bitcoin, with a total holding of over 150,000 coins Impact dimension: The pioneer of the formalization of asset allocation of listed companies, promoting BTC "corporate treasury"
Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Since 2020, Michael Saylor has led Strategy to purchase a total of approximately 560,000 bitcoins (approximately 2.6% of the total supply), driving a wave of corporate investment, and his Bitcoin strategy has also caused the company's stock price to soar. Through interviews, Twitter (X), and crypto event summits, Saylor became a global evangelist for Bitcoin, attracting institutional investors.
Larry Fink (CEO of BlackRock)
Representative event: Promoted the application of Bitcoin spot ETF and successfully obtained approval Impact dimension: Make BTC enter the "compliance threshold" of institutional investment and establish its reputation in the context of global asset allocation Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Fink called Bitcoin a "money laundering tool" in 2017, but in 2023 he took a sharp turn and embraced the Bitcoin ETF. The BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was approved in 2024 and became the fastest growing ETF in history, managing over $63.7 billion in assets, attracting traditional investors and pushing the price of Bitcoin above $100,000.
Barry Silbert (Founder of DCG)
Representative event: Create Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC to guide institutional funds to enter the market early Impact dimension: Build a "trust channel" for Bitcoin, which becomes an important transition on the eve of ETF Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Grayscale, owned by Barry Silbert, was once the most important channel for promoting institutional compliance in holding currency. In 2013, he launched Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to provide institutions and retail investors with an investment channel without having to directly hold Bitcoin. By 2024, it was converted into an ETF, managing nearly US$20 billion in assets.
Jack Dorsey (Block founder, former Twitter CEO)
Representative events: In 2018, Cash App enabled Bitcoin trading, promoted Block (formerly Square) to purchase Bitcoin and hold it for a long time, and launched the Btrust fund. Influence dimensions: BTC communicator in Silicon Valley and the Internet circle. Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Jack Dorsey is a staunch believer in the concept of Bitcoin. Block's Cash App has become an important entry point for millions of users to access BTC. It has also actively developed open source self-hosted wallets and mining hardware to promote the construction of Bitcoin's decentralized infrastructure. The Btrust fund he founded supports developers around the world, initially focusing on teams in Africa and India.
Cathie Wood (Founder, ARK Invest)
Representative events: Continuous application for Bitcoin ETF, public support for the long-term value of Bitcoin Impact dimension: Promoting a new generation of growth investors (especially technology stock investors) to pay attention to BTC
Star rating: ✭✭✭
ARK Invest's ARKW ETF has invested in Bitcoin-related companies (such as Grayscale and Coinbase) since 2018. The application for Bitcoin spot ETF began in 2021, and the Bitcoin spot ETF ARKB, which was approved in 2024, manages assets exceeding US$5 billion.
Elon Musk (founder of Tesla, X, and SpaceX)
Representative events: In 2021, Tesla announced the purchase of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, and in the same year announced that it would accept Bitcoin payments (later suspended due to energy consumption issues).
Influence dimension: One of the most influential entrepreneurs in the world, whose every move directly affects the sentiment of the crypto market Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Musk plays the role of an "emotional promoter" and "circle amplifier" in the history of Bitcoin. In 2021, Tesla's decision to purchase Bitcoin triggered a wave of institutional follow-up and pushed the price of BTC to a new high. In addition, his support for the meme coin DOGE also helped push meme culture into the core stage of the crypto asset world.
Paul Tudor Jones (Legendary hedge fund manager)
Representative event: Publicly investing in Bitcoin in 2020, calling it "the best asset to hedge against inflation"
Impact Dimension: Opening the cognitive gate for traditional Wall Street capital is one of the turning points for Bitcoin institutionalization Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Paul Tudor Jones is one of the key drivers of Bitcoin's institutionalization, accelerating the mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin with his macro-investment vision and influence on Wall Street. His investment encouraged institutions such as Bridgewater and JPMorgan to follow suit, attracting capital inflows from Wall Street.
Policy coordinate system adjuster
Nayib Bukele (President of El Salvador)
Representative event: Promoted El Salvador to become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin a legal tender Impact dimension: Pushed Bitcoin from "asset" to "currency" status, and started national-level formalization Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Nayib Bukele pushed for the Bitcoin Law in June 2021, making El Salvador the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender, allowing it to be used for tax payments, payments, and debt settlement. The government launched the Chivo wallet, plans to build a "Bitcoin city", and uses volcanic geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin. Although this national-level practice has been controversial, it has undoubtedly become a turning point in the history of Bitcoin.
Trump (President of the United States)
Representative events: Promote the inclusion of Bitcoin in the national strategic reserve and promise to "make the United States the capital of encryption"
Impact Dimension: Strengthening the status of Bitcoin with national administrative power and opening up a new era of "sovereign Bitcoin" narrative Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
During Trump's 2024 campaign, he made a high-profile promise to "make America the capital of Bitcoin." At the beginning of his term in office in 2025, he signed an executive order requiring the Treasury Department to study the inclusion of Bitcoin in strategic reserves and accelerate the shift to friendlier regulation. His policy stance not only reshaped the U.S. Bitcoin regulatory framework, but also led to a rise in global policy discussions, with other countries also beginning to explore Bitcoin reserve plans.
Gary Gensler (Former SEC Chairman)
Representative event: Approval of the first batch of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States during his tenure, ending a decade of veto Impact dimension: "Final approver" at the regulatory level
Star rating: ✭✭
Gary Gensler has played a complex and controversial role in Bitcoin policy. Between 2021 and 2023, he led lawsuits against exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance, accusing them of unregistered securities trading, indirectly forcing Bitcoin-related companies to strengthen compliance and promote industry standardization. In 2024, under market and political pressure, Gensler approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, marking a turning point in the mainstreaming of Bitcoin.
Cynthia Lummis (Chair of the U.S. Senate Digital Assets Subcommittee)
Representative events: Proposing the "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act" and promoting legislative reforms of the cryptocurrency regulatory framework Impact dimensions: Bitcoin legislative supporter, committed to developing a clear policy framework to protect the crypto market Star rating: ✭✭✭
Cynthia Lummis is a leading figure in the U.S. policy circle, promoting the standardization of Bitcoin policies through legislation and regional experiments. Wyoming has become a crypto-friendly state under its promotion and will issue the first state-level stablecoin in the United States in July.
Hester Peirce (U.S. SEC Commissioner)
Representative events: Advocate for a clearer regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency market and support the launch of a Bitcoin ETF Impact dimensions: Advocate for regulatory reform, advocate for a more relaxed and flexible regulatory environment for the crypto market Star rating: ✭✭✭
Hester Peirce, known as the "Crypto Mom," has long supported the legalization of cryptocurrency assets within the SEC and promoted the approval of innovative financial products such as Bitcoin ETFs. Peirce's views have a strong influence in the industry and have become an important force in promoting the legalization of the crypto industry.
Leung Fung-yee (Chief Executive Officer, Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong)
Representative events: Promote the virtual asset platform licensing system in Hong Kong and strengthen cross-border regulatory cooperation Impact dimensions: Guide crypto regulatory policies in the Asia-Pacific region and balance innovation and risk control Star rating: ✭✭✭
Leung Fung-yee has established Hong Kong as a global crypto hub with a clear regulatory framework and forward-looking policies. She led the implementation of the virtual asset trading platform licensing system, approved Asia’s first batch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in April 2024, and planned to launch a stablecoin regulatory framework.
Wu Jiezhuang (Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong)
Representative events: Proposing to set up a HK$100 million fund to support the Web3 industry and promoting "digital access" to allow mainland investors to buy and sell digital assets recognized by Hong Kong Impact dimensions: Advocating compliance innovation in the field of virtual assets and promoting Hong Kong's encryption ecology Star rating: ✭✭✭
Wu Jiezhuang is one of the key figures in Hong Kong's political and business circles in promoting the development of the digital economy and virtual assets. He is the chairman of the Hong Kong Legislative Council's Web3 and Virtual Asset Development Subcommittee. He has proposed setting up a HK$100 million fund to support the Web3 industry and promoting "Digital Access" to allow mainland investors to buy and sell digital assets recognized by Hong Kong.
Crypto OGs and Platform Promoters
Brian Armstrong (Coinbase Co-Founder)
Representative event: Founded Coinbase and built it into the largest crypto-compliant trading platform in the United States. The platform was successfully listed and selected into the S&P 500 index. Impact dimension: Coinbase is a representative of the US regulatory compliance route, providing entry for retail investors and institutions. Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Brian Armstrong is one of the key figures in the crypto world's move toward compliance and capital markets. In 2021, Coinbase went public, and recently Coinbase stock was included in the S&P 500 index, marking an important milestone in the industry's integration with Wall Street. It also supports spot Bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock and Fidelity through Coinbase Prime and custody services, consolidating the institutionalization of Bitcoin.
Jihan Wu (Founder of BitDeer and Matrixport)
Representative events: Founded Bitmain, BitDeer, and Matrixport, and dominated the mining industry landscape Impact dimension: Promoted the security and computing power growth of the Bitcoin network by providing efficient mining equipment Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Wu Jihan is known for translating Satoshi Nakamoto's original Bitcoin white paper and is an important figure in promoting the industrialization of Bitcoin. The BitContinent he founded once controlled over 70% of the world's computing power and was one of the earliest capital promoters of Bitcoin. However, he insisted on the large block route and supported the BCH fork, causing the community to split. Internal strife within BitContinent led to his withdrawal from management in 2021.
Li Lin (Founder of Huobi)
Representative event: Founded Huobi.com, which promoted the early popularization of China's crypto market Impact dimension: Huobi was once one of the largest trading platforms in the world, promoting the popularity of Bitcoin in Asia Star rating: ✭✭✭
Li Lin played an important role in promoting China's early encryption market. In 2014, he appeared on the same stage with Wu Xiaoling, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, at the Sanya International Finance Forum and delivered a speech entitled "The Development and Prospects of Cryptocurrencies" to promote the financial potential of Bitcoin. He was investigated due to regulatory pressure in 2020 and withdrew from Huobi’s shareholder and management in 2022.
CZ CZ (Founder of Binance)
Representative event: Founding Binance, which quickly developed into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Impact dimension: Providing diversified trading services and promoting the circulation and adoption of Bitcoin worldwide Star rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
CZ is known for his great contributions to the construction of global exchanges and the popularization of Bitcoin. Binance was founded in 2017 and has built a complete ecosystem including public chains, wallets, incubators, and stablecoins. Despite resigning from the position of CEO of Binance due to heavy regulatory pressure, CZ has long promoted the popularization of Bitcoin and crypto assets, and his personal influence spans retail investors, project parties and regulatory circles.
Star Xu Xu (Founder of OKX)
Representative event: Founding OKX, providing diversified cryptocurrency trading services Impact dimension: Asian crypto trading structure innovator, promoting the development of contract and derivatives business Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Star Xu founded OKCoin (later developed into OKX) in 2013, and in 2014 it became one of the world's largest Bitcoin trading platforms. He has written books such as "Illustrated Blockchain" and "Token Economy". In 2020, he was restricted by equity merger and acquisition investigations and withdrew from the board of directors of OKLink in 2022.
Marty Bent (Podcast Host)
Representative events: Managing partner of Ten31, operating the podcast "Tales from the Crypt", promoting the in-depth dissemination of Bitcoin concepts. Impact dimensions: Spreading Bitcoin culture through podcasts, media and educational content has a profound impact on the grassroots community and developer ecology in the United States.
Star rating: ✭✭
Marty Bent uses words and microphone to convey the values of Bitcoin and is an important guardian of the spiritual core of Bitcoin. Marty Bent is the former head of Great American Mining. He actively promotes the use of waste energy to mine Bitcoin and advocates the combination of energy recycling and decentralized network security.
Jimmy Song (Bitcoin educator, developer, and entrepreneur)
Representative events: Global speeches, publishing multiple Bitcoin books Influence dimension: A bridge figure between technology popularization and concept dissemination, connecting developers and the public Star rating: ✭✭
Jimmy Song was once a contributor to Bitcoin Core. Later, he focused on education and publicity. He published books such as "Programming Bitcoin" and "Thank God for Bitcoin", and gave speeches at global conferences all year round to promote Bitcoin.
Andreas M. Antonopoulos (Bitcoin educator, author)
Representative events: publishing classic works such as "Mastering Bitcoin" and "Internet Money", and giving lectures around the world to popularize the concept of Bitcoin. Influence dimension: a cornerstone figure in building public awareness of Bitcoin. Star rating: ✭✭✭✭
Andreas M. Antonopoulos is one of the most influential educators in the Bitcoin community. He has written more than 200 popular science articles on Bitcoin and given dozens of lectures around the world, promoting the idea that "Bitcoin is the cornerstone of decentralized finance" and influencing global policy discussions.
