Source: Stablecon
Top 10
The Stablecoins Most Influential 2026 recognises the people shaping the global stablecoin ecosystem — the issuers, builders, investors, policymakers, and operators driving its growth across six regions.
Honorees are assessed within their peer group across five dimensions: ecosystem influence, impact and reach, innovation, momentum, and peer recognition. Scoring is done internally and applied consistently; what we publish is the method, not the individual scores. The ranked Top 10 reflects influence that cuts across the whole ecosystem, normalised so no single category or region dominates the marquee.
The list is independent and merit-based. There is no paid placement, and no sponsorship, commercial relationship, or event participation influences inclusion or ranking.
Roles and titles were verified as current as of 1 June 2026.
Top 10 List
- Scott Bessent — US Treasury Secretary
- Paolo Ardoino — CEO, Tether (USDT)
- Jeremy Allaire — Co-founder & CEO, Circle (USDC)
- Zach Abrams — Co-founder, Bridge (Stripe)
- Brian Armstrong — CEO, Coinbase
- Stani Kulechov — Founder & CEO, Aave
- Guy Young — Founder, Ethena Labs
- Katie Haun — Founder & CEO, Haun Ventures
- Eddie Yue — CEO, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
- Daniel Vogel — CEO, Bitso
By Category
Beyond the Top 10, the list spans ten peer groups across six regions. Within each category, names are listed alphabetically by first name — the recognition is in the inclusion, not the order. Top 10 honorees are elevated to the marquee above and are not repeated here.
Together, these categories map where stablecoin influence actually sits today: from issuers and infrastructure builders to exchanges, DeFi, compliance, investors, policymakers, and the analysts and ecosystem voices shaping the conversation.
Issuer & Protocol Leaders
- Adedeji Owonibi — Founder, Convexity/WCBDC (cNGN)
- Caitlin Long — Founder & CEO, Custodia Bank (Avit)
- Charles Cascarilla — CEO / Co-founder, Paxos
- Ian De Bode — CEO, Ondo Finance (USDY/OUSG)
- Jan-Oliver Sell — CEO, Qivalis
- Luca Prosperi — CEO / Co-founder, M0
- Nick van Eck — CEO / Co-founder, Agora (AUSD)
- Noritaka Okabe — CEO, JPYC
- Ramez Rafeek — General Manager, AED Stablecoin (AE Coin)
- Rune Christensen — Co-founder, Sky (formerly MakerDAO; USDS/DAI)
- Sam Kazemian — Founder / CEO, Frax Finance (frxUSD)
- Sveinn Valfells — Co-founder & Chair, Monerium
- Tatsuya Saito — Founder / CEO, Progmat
- Marlyson Silva — Group President, Transfero (BRZ)
- Martin Bruncko — Founder / CEO, Schuman Financial (EURØP)
- Martin Carrica — Head of Stablecoin Issuance, Anchorage Digital
- Monica Long — President, Ripple
Payments & Infrastructure Builders
- Bam Azizi — Co-founder & CEO, Mesh
- Ben Milne — Founder & CEO, Brale
- Benjamin Fernandes — Founder & CEO, NALA
- Bernardo García — Co-founder, Félix Pago
- Carlos Domingo — Co-founder & CEO, Securitize
- Catherine Gu — Head of Product, Digital Assets, Solana Foundation
- Clarisse Hagege — CEO, Dfns
- Dan Mottice — Head of Stablecoins, Modern Treasury (fmr Beam)
- Daniel Lev — CEO / Co-founder, Coinflow
- Daren Guo — Co-founder & CEO, Reap (acquired by Payward/Kraken)
- David Marcus — Co-founder & CEO, Lightspark
- Edward Woodford — CEO / Founder, zerohash
- Elizabeth Rossiello — Founder & CEO, AZA Finance
- Eric Barbier — Founder & CEO, Triple-A
- Ezra Kebrab — CEO / Founder, Caliza
- Farooq Malik — CEO / Co-founder, Rain
- Felix Macharia — CEO / Co-founder, Kotani Pay
- Henri Stern — Co-founder & CEO, Privy (a Stripe company)
- Iana Dimitrova — CEO, OpenPayd
- Itai Turbahn — VP Embedded Wallets, Fireblocks (Co-founder, Dynamic)
- Jess Houlgrave — CEO, WalletConnect
- Jesse Hemson-Struthers — CEO / Co-founder, BVNK
- Kirill Gertman — CEO / Founder, Conduit
- Manuel Godoy — CEO / Co-founder, Félix Pago
- Max von Wallenberg — Co-founder & CEO, Iron (MoonPay)
- May Zabaneh — SVP & GM, Crypto, PayPal (PYUSD)
- Mike Ogbalu III — CEO, PAPSS
- Mo Ali Yusuf — CEO / Co-founder, Fuze
- Mouloukou Sanoh — CEO / Co-founder, Mansa
- Patrick Collison — CEO / Co-founder, Stripe
- Raj Parekh — Head of Payments & Stablecoins, Monad Foundation
- Rita Liu — CEO, RD Technologies (OristaPay)
- Sami Start — Co-founder & CEO, Transak
- Sebastian Serrano — CEO / Co-founder, Ripio
- Tianwei Liu — CEO / Co-founder, StraitsX
- Tony McLaughlin — Founder & CEO, Ubyx
Exchanges, On/Off-Ramps & Consumer Access
- Caroline Pham — Head of MoonPay Institutional and CLO, MoonPay (Former Acting Chair, CFTC)
- Chris Maurice — CEO / Co-founder, Yellow Card
- Emilie Choi — President & COO, Coinbase
- Eseoghene Onomor — CEO, Roqqu
- Ivan Soto-Wright — CEO / Co-founder, MoonPay
- Manuel Beaudroit — Co-founder & CEO, Belo
- Marcelo Cavazzoli — CEO, Lemon Cash
- Michael Gao — Co-founder & CEO, RedotPay
- Ola Doudin — Co-founder & CEO, BitOasis
- Raagulan Pathy — Founder & CEO, KAST
- Roberto Dagnoni — Executive Chairman, Mercado Bitcoin
- Wei Zhou — CEO, Coins.ph
Liquidity & Markets
- Kevin De Patoul — Co-founder & CEO, Keyrock
- Prabhakar Reddy — Founder & CEO, OpenFX
- Sam Broner — Co-founder, The Better Money Company
Investors & Capital Allocators
- Chris Dixon — Founder / Managing Partner, a16z crypto
- Diogo Mónica — General Partner, Haun Ventures (Co-founder, Anchorage)
- Josh Rosenthal — General Partner, Polychain
- Katie Haun — CEO, Haun Ventures
- Matthew Homer — General Partner, The Venture Dept.
- Matt Huang — Co-founder, Paradigm
- Nic Carter — General Partner, Castle Island Ventures
- Rob Hadick — General Partner, Dragonfly
- Shan Aggarwal — Chief Business Officer, Coinbase
TradFi & Institutional Leaders
- Cuy Sheffield — Head of Crypto, Visa
- Dominic Maffei — CEO & Co-Founder, Anchorpoint
- Jenny Johnson — President & CEO, Franklin Templeton
- Larry Fink — Chairman & CEO, BlackRock
- Michael Chan — CEO, Zand Bank
- Michael Miebach — CEO, Mastercard
- Michael Shaulov — CEO / Co-founder, Fireblocks
- Mike Belshe — CEO / Co-founder, BitGo
- Nathan McCauley — CEO / Co-founder, Anchorage Digital
- Raj Dhamodharan — EVP, Blockchain & Digital Assets, Mastercard
- Tomohiko Kondo — Representative Director & President, SBI VC Trade / SBI Digital Assets
- Vincent Chok — CEO, First Digital (FDUSD)
- Yam Ki Chan — Managing Director, Circle
DeFi Protocols & Onchain Finance
- Paul Frambot — Founder, Morpho Labs
Compliance & Analytics
- James Smith — Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Elliptic
- Jon Ma — CEO, Artemis
- Pelle Braendgaard — Founder & CEO, Notabene
- Tarun Chitra — Co-founder & CEO, Gauntlet
Policymakers, Regulators & Politicians
- Angela Alsobrooks — US Senator (D-MD)
- Bill Hagerty — US Senator (R-TN), lead GENIUS Act sponsor
- Christine Lagarde — President, ECB / Chair, ESRB
- Cynthia Lummis — US Senator (R-WY)
- David Geale — Executive Director, Payments & Digital Finance, FCA
- Elizabeth Warren — US Senator (D-MA)
- Emomotimi Agama — Director-General, SEC Nigeria
- Gabriel Galipolo — Governor, Central Bank of Brazil
- Hester Peirce — Commissioner, US SEC
- Jonathan Gould — Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
- Kirsten Gillibrand — US Senator (D-NY)
- Maria Luís Albuquerque — European Commissioner for Financial Services
- Marwan Alzarouni — CEO, Dubai Blockchain Center; AI CEO, Dubai DET
- Olayemi Cardoso — Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria
- Paul Atkins — Chair, US SEC
- Piero Cipollone — Executive Board Member, ECB
- Sarah Breeden — Deputy Governor (Financial Stability), Bank of England
- Sasha Mills — Executive Director, FMI, Bank of England
- Sopnendu Mohanty — Group CEO, GFTN (former MAS Chief FinTech Officer)
- Tim Scott — US Senator, Banking Committee
- Travis Hill — Chairman, FDIC
- Verena Ross — Chair, ESMA
Researchers, Standards & Ecosystem Voices
- Amanda Tuminelli — Executive Director & CLO, DeFi Education Fund
- Austin Campbell — Founder, Zero Knowledge Consulting; Adjunct, NYU Stern
- Ayo Omojola — Founder, A Very Stable Conference
- Beth Haddock — Global Policy Lead, Stablecoin Standard; Director, GMO-Z.com Trust
- Brenton Naicker — Principal and Head of Growth (Middle East & Africa), CV VC
- Chiara Munaretto — Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Stablecoin Insider
- Christian Catalini — Co-founder, Lightspark, MIT
- Chuk Okpalugo — Founder, Stablecoin Blueprint
- Cody Carbone — CEO, The Digital Chamber
- Dante Disparte — Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy, Circle
- Denelle Dixon — CEO, Stellar Development Foundation
- Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta — Chairman, Middle East Stablecoin Association
- Jonas Gross — Chair, Digital Euro Association
- Jai Massari — Of Counsel, Arktouros; Co-founder, Lightspark
- Ji Hun Kim — CEO, Crypto Council for Innovation
- Kristin Smith — President, Solana Policy Institute
- Nic Carter — General Partner, Castle Island Ventures (also media/research)
- Patrick Hansen — Senior Director, EU Strategy & Policy, Circle
- Rahul Advani — Policy Director APAC, Ripple; Chair, BAS Stablecoin & CBDC Subcommittee
- Serena Sebastiani — Group Chief Strategy & Venture Officer, Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Fuze
- Simon Taylor — Market Development, Tempo; Founder, Fintech Brainfood
- Summer Mersinger — CEO, Blockchain Association
Rising Influencers to Watch by Region
North America
- Anna Yuan — Founder & CEO, Perena
- Arnold Lee — CEO, Sphere Labs
- Bernardo García — Co-founder, Félix Pago
- Catherine Gu — Head of Digital Assets Product, Solana Foundation
- Hugo Finkelstein — Co-founder & CEO, Rise
- Jack Chong — CEO, Checker
- Kevin Lehtiniitty — CEO, Borderless.xyz
- Mohammad Raafi Hossain — CEO & Co-founder, Fasset
- Nassim Eddequiouaq — CEO, Bastion
- Nikhil Srinivasan — CEO, Infinite
- Oneal Bhambani — CEO, Flyra
- Rodri Fernández Touza — CEO, Crossmint
- Ryan Bozarth — Co-founder & CEO, Dakota
- Ryne Saxe — CEO, Eco
- Sam Broner — Co-founder, The Better Money Company
- Sinclair Toffa — CEO, Mural Pay
- Zach Walsh — Co-founder & CEO, HIFI
Europe
- Irina Chuchkina — Wallet in Telegram
- Mike Hudack — CEO, Morse (formerly Sling Money)
Middle East
- Bentzi Rabi — CEO, Utila
- Erez Rachamim — CEO, Stables
- Mouloukou Sanoh — Co-founder & CEO, MANSA
Latin America
- Agustín Liserra — CEO, Num Finance
- Bernardo Brites — CEO, Trace Finance
- Federico Ogue — CEO, Buenbit by Nexo
- Gaston Irigoyen — Co-founder & CEO, Pomelo
- Leandro Noel — Co-founder & COO, Avenia
- Marcelo Cavazzoli — CEO, Lemon Cash
- Marcos Viriato — CEO, Parfin
Africa
- Adedeji Owonibi — Founder, Convexity/WCBDC (cNGN)
- Benjy Feinberg — Cedar Money
- Christian Duffus — CEO, Fonbnk
- Eseoghene Onomor — CEO, Roqqu
- Felix Macharia — CEO & Co-founder, Kotani Pay
- Ife Johnson — CEO, Juicyway
- Morgan Williams — Co-founder & COO, Blockradar
Asia/Pacific
- Edul Patel — Co-founder & CEO, Saber Money
- Milind Sanghavi — Co-founder & CEO, Xweave
- Parth Garg — Founder & CEO, Aspora
- Raj Kamal — CEO, TransFi
- Rita Liu — CEO, RD Technologies
- Zack Yang — Co-founder, FOMO Pay
Top Women in Stablecoins
Issuer & Protocol Leaders
- Caitlin Long — Founder & CEO, Custodia Bank (Avit)
- Monica Long — President, Ripple
Exchanges, On/Off-Ramps & Consumer Access
- Caroline Pham — Head of MoonPay Institutional and CLO, MoonPay (Former Acting Chair, CFTC)
- Emilie Choi — President & COO, Coinbase
- Ola Doudin — Co-Founder & CEO, BitOasis
TradFi & Institutional Leaders
- Jenny Johnson — President & CEO, Franklin Templeton
Researchers, Standards & Ecosystem Voices
- Amanda Tuminelli — Executive Director & CLO, DeFi Education Fund
- Beth Haddock — Global Policy Lead, Stablecoin Standard; Director, GMO-Z.com Trust
- Chiara Munaretto — Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Stablecoin Insider
- Denelle Dixon — CEO, Stellar Development Foundation
- Jai Massari — Of Counsel, Arktouros; Co-founder, Lightspark
- Kristin Smith — President, Solana Policy Institute
- Marta Belcher — President, Blockchain Association Board; President, Filecoin Foundation
- Serena Sebastiani — Group Chief Strategy & Venture Officer, Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Fuze
- Summer Mersinger — CEO, Blockchain Association
Payments & Infrastructure Builders
- Clarisse Hagege — CEO, Dfns
- Elizabeth Rossiello — Founder & CEO, AZA Finance
- Iana Dimitrova — CEO, OpenPayd
- Jess Houlgrave — CEO, WalletConnect
- Lindsey Lim — EVP of Banking, Sphere Labs
- May Zabaneh — SVP & GM, Crypto, PayPal (PYUSD)
- Rita Liu — CEO, RD Technologies (OristaPay)
Investors & Capital Allocators
- Katie Haun — CEO, Haun Ventures
Policymakers, Regulators & Politicians
- Angela Alsobrooks — US Senator (D-MD)
- Christine Lagarde — President, ECB / Chair, ESRB
- Cynthia Lummis — US Senator (R-WY)
- Elizabeth Warren — US Senator (D-MA)
- Hester Peirce — Commissioner, US SEC
- Kirsten Gillibrand — US Senator (D-NY)
- Maria Luís Albuquerque — European Commissioner for Financial Services
- Sarah Breeden — Deputy Governor, Bank of England
- Sasha Mills — Executive Director, FMI, Bank of England
- Verena Ross — Chair, ESMA