People Of Interest

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There are many people who are foreign to the concept of digital currencies, and thanks to Bitcoin's old ways many people still associated it with the black market, and cyber crime. Its underlying technology blockchains has been created and maintained by the most brilliant minds the world will ever see. This list was combined keeping in mind who has had the most influence in the bitcoin and digital currencies.

 

• Marc Andreessen - was the founder of Netscape, which was the world's first usable web browser. Netscape is now referred to as AOL, and fighting in the struggling market. He also founded a leading venture capitalist firm called Andreessen Horowitz. Marc Andreessen is the first mainstream investor to put his money in bitcoin startups. Apart from being the chairman of Andreessen’s and Loudcloud, he has joined the board of directors of various internet startups, such as MobShop, CollabNet, Octopus.com, and CacheFlow.
   

• Fred Wilson -  is a venture capitalist, and one of the early investors who took a chance in  twitter, facebook and many other companies that have moved on top. In the recent few years Fred Wilson has starting to invest in bitcoin, as well as various blockchain startups.
   

• Patrick Byrne - also known as the “Scourge of Wall Street”, is the CEO of e-retailer Overstock.com. His company was the first to accept bitcoin in the retail market. He believes that soon bitcoin and the underlying technology, the blockchain will take over wall street. He has launched T0, a company that is focused on revolutionizing the financial industry, using blockchain technology. A technology that makes transactions more accessible, equitable, transparent, cheaper, faster and more secure than traditional systems.
   

• Nick Szabo - a computer scientist, cryptographer, and legal scholar is well known for his research and contribution in the digital currency, and digital contracts. In 1998, he designed a decentralized currency which he named “bit gold”. This digital currency did not gain much attention, but brought along bitcoin after a decade. Many people suspect that Nick Szabo is indeed Satoshi Nakamoto (the creator of bitcoin), but he has denied it on several occasions. Unlike Nakamoto, Szabo attends events freely. In 2015, in London, during an event Szabo discussed how bitcoin and Ethereum can solve this world’s problems.
   

• Hal Finney - is a renowned cryptographic activist, and a bitcoin pioneer. In 2004, he created the proof of work system, this way before bitcoin got to it. In 2009, he was the first person to receive Bitcoins, sent by Nakamoto himself/herself/themselves. He was successful in running a contest that broke the export grade encryption, setup Netscape. Finney, was a developer for the PGP, and retired in 2011. He continued to program till he passed away in 2014. He has a contract with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, and was cryopreserved. Before his death, he was working on an experimental software, bcflick, which basically uses trusted computers to help improve bitcoin wallet safety and security.
   

• Gavin Andresen - is well known for his work with Nakamoto, on bitcoin source code development. Nakamoto, handed over the source code to Andersen before disappearing, this source code lets him broadcast messages to all clients. In 2014, Andersen stepped down as lead developer of Bitcoin, and started working on Bitcoin Foundation as Chief Scientist. This foundation was set in place to promote the use of bitcoin globally.
   

• Adam Back - since 1995, has been working on e-cash protocols. He invented the proof of work, hashcash, and decentralized mining function. Hashcash, today is also used in other protocols, for instance, in combating blog spam. Black, has worked as a developer at Zero-Knowledge System, mainly on their freedom network. Today, he is a CCO at Spondoolies Tech Ltd. and Blockstream president. In 2016, at $55 Million Blockstream closed Series A, funding round. To help it advance its technology and vision, which included working on its side chain, Liquid.
   

• Andreas Antonopoulos - is an entrepreneur, technologist, and an engaging public speaker. His role has been to make bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies easy to understand. He believes cryptocurrencies are a way to connect yourself to the world. He has appeared in the Canadian Senate to help them decide the best regulatory approach.
   

• Patrick Byrne - also known as the “Scourge of Wall Street”, is the CEO of e-retailer Overstock.com. His company was the first to accept cryptocurrency in the retail market. He believes that soon the cryptocurrencies will take over wall street. He has launched T0, a company that is focused on revolutionizing the financial industry, using blockchain technology. A technology that makes transactions more accessible, equitable, and transparent.
   

• Blythe Masters - was made Managing director at the age of 28, she has held numerous senior positions at wall street. She is considered as the most powerful women, and has recently retired from her position. She is on the board for two most leading women's organizations, and she has taken up a position as Group Senior Advisor on blockchain, for various startups.

 

These are just a few people who are paying special attention towards cryptocurrency. There are many others, but these figures are and have been individually related to the market. The popularity of cryptocurrencies is growing, as more and more people are taking it as a source of investment.