The Ephemeral Kings of Crypto: A Weekend Reflection on Industry Cycles

It’s the weekend. Time to dial back the intensity, take a look at the forest for the trees, and indulge in a bit of industry gossip. While cleaning up my information sources today, a familiar pattern emerged — the constant need to update the roster of who’s who. The list of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in the crypto space is in perpetual flux.

This industry moves in hyper-speed, creating and unseating influential figures at a dizzying pace. It’s a stark reminder that in Web3, the old adage of “thirty years of fortune on one side of the river, thirty on the other” is compressed into months, not decades.

The Cycle of Narrative-Driven Fame

Remember the height of the NFT boom? It was impossible to escape the news feed mentions of Jeffrey Huang, better known as “Machi Big Brother.” Every day brought a new alert: Which Bored Ape did Machi buy? Which collection did he sweep? Was he up or down on his latest multi-million dollar JPEG trade? His influence was inextricably linked to the NFT narrative; his large-scale transactions could visibly impact the floor prices of major collections.

Then, as the NFT hype cooled, a new archetype rose to prominence: the high-leverage, on-chain degen. Enter James Wynn, the “Hyperliquid 50x whale.” His every move was scrutinized as he became an unofficial spokesperson for the decentralized perpetuals exchange. His public profile exploded as he shared his billion-dollar positions and eye-watering profits and losses. His fame was a product of a system — decentralized leverage trading — and a market hungry for transparent, high-stakes drama.

The New Guard: A Shift in Focus

Today, the spotlight has pivoted again. The name currently commanding attention is Tom Lee, the former Chief Equity Strategist at J.P. Morgan. A long-time crypto bull who once famously predicted Bitcoin would hit $200,000 by 2022, Lee is now the chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies. His current focus signals a shift from individual trader theatrics to a more institutional, strategic accumulation phase of the market cycle, where the key players are those bridging the worlds of traditional finance and Web3 infrastructure.

The Enduring Constants

Of course, some voices remain perennial. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s influence is foundational; he consistently steers conversations back to first principles, whether it’s the importance of open-source development, the risks of over-leveraging in DeFi, or the need for more human input in AI. His relevance isn’t tied to a fleeting market trend but to his role as a core builder and philosopher of the space.

Similarly, Elon Musk remains a constant, albeit unpredictable, force. His influence stems not from within the crypto ecosystem but from his colossal external platform, from which his comments on everything from Dogecoin to Bitcoin can spark significant market volatility.

First Principles of Influence

So what’s the first principle at play here? Influence in Web3 is overwhelmingly tethered to the dominant market narrative of the moment. It flows to those who are perceived to be playing the current game at the highest level, whether that game is flipping NFTs, executing billion-dollar leveraged trades, or accumulating a strategic ETH treasury.

The faces change as the cycles turn. Machi was the king of the NFT cycle. Wynn was the icon of the public degen cycle. Lee is emerging as a key figure in the institutionalization cycle. This rapid rotation of “new money” and new voices is a fundamental feature of a young, dynamic, and narrative-driven industry. For those of us who have been in the trenches for years, watching these cycles is a crucial exercise — a reminder to look past the “who” and focus on the “why.” Why is this person influential now? And what does their rise tell us about the system we are all building?

The Ephemeral Kings of Crypto: A Weekend Reflection on Industry Cycles was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.