In 2010, “crypto” consisted of the Bitcoin blockchain and a motley group of visionaries, builders, and outlaws. Today, crypto is a multi-trillion-dollar industry whose reach spans from humble villages to the biggest banks on Wall Street. This evolution reflects the tireless work of thousands of entrepreneurs who have built a global technology stack, often in the face of hostile governments and media contempt. In order to recognize their work, we are publishing the Fortune Crypto 100—the latest addition to Fortune‘s iconic company rankings.
Glance at the list and you will see early crypto pioneers like Coinbase and Kraken, and also cutting edge up-and-comers like Hyperliquid and Ondo, which have only emerged in the last five years. Most striking is the number of companies—including Robinhood, Nasdaq, and Franklin Templeton—that made their name in other realms of finance. There are also firms built around tokenizing stocks or selling ETF shares—businesses that would have seemed unimaginable in the early days of Bitcoin.
