Why is the cult of personality so strong in Web3?

The cult of personality in the crypto space is evident. Despite decentralization being one of its core primitives, Web3 folks tend to look up to central figures. Even though we associate the industry with privacy and security, the most vocal, omnipresent, and sometimes reckless individuals generally receive the most attention.

It’s not just a presumption. Psychology has a few proofs and explanations of why the trend is so powerful in crypto:

• One reason is decentralization itself. In a distributed environment where traditional accountability structures are absent, strong personalities serve as surrogates for trust. Founders, influencers, or prominent developers simply become credibility symbols for their projects.
• It’s difficult to find an industry that relies as much on the herd mentality as Web3. People naturally gravitate toward figures who exude confidence and success, using their endorsement as a shortcut for decision-making. These heuristics are specifically powerful when uncertainty is high. In crypto, a single “like” from a specific person under a random tweet can be perceived as a newsworthy story.

• Despite the number of Web3 success stories from X—where each trader makes 100x on every memecoin they touch (hello, survivorship bias 😏)—the industry struggles with the lack of genuinely spectacular achievements. Consequently, there is a blatant scarcity of people behind them. In this relatively small pool of significant personalities, those who achieve fame are disproportionately celebrated. Their perceived rarity adds an aura of exceptionality, elevating them to an almost mythic status.

Praised personalities heading into 2025

Let’s examine how the set of Web3 inspirational leaders has changed. Before 2022, most of us admired Do Kwon for all his groundbreaking ideas around Luna. We saw the spark of genius in clumsy yet brilliant Sam Bankman-Fried. We listened to the powerful speeches of Alex Mashinsky. And some of us still follow equally controversial (but definitely not as destructive) figures as Justin Sun or Carl “The Moon” Runefelt. The spotlights on them dimmed down in just a few years. 

It doesn’t mean that today’s idols CZ, Vitalik, or Trump will follow any of these guru’s fates. However, it shows how thin the ice is for all the “Web3 Icons of Admiration”. Mainly because such status is specifically rewarding due to the following reasons:

• Web3 icons inspire intense loyalty from their followers, who see them as leaders of tribes, reinforcing support even during the controversy.
• Such figures shape market trends immediately – affecting the price of even the TOP 10 market cap assets through a single laconic tweet. The “Elon Musk” part provides precise (and scientific!) data to confirm that. Trump or Musk may not care, but for all the wannabe Web3 icons, such power is a highly tempting vision.
• Due to the high activity on crypto X and the generally positive feedback loop, the dopamine rush is much higher than in the equally vibrant but more adverse politics space.

In 2025, all these points may be difficult to achieve. The upcoming months present high-level challenges for each worshipped Web3 personality mentioned above. They must now deliver on their promises, steer their projects in a completely new environment, or simply benefit from the opportunities that will likely arise. Hence, in the following paragraphs, I’ll examine how the reality check may look for each.

Vitalik Buterin vs. the need for Ethereum hype

Main challenge: To remain the driving icon of the entire ecosystem

Vitalik’s tweets may influence Ethereum’s price a bit less than those of Musk and Dogecoin, but this is likely due to the seriousness of the asset, not the lack of power.

The real issue is that no matter the content of the tweets, the sentiment around Buterin and Ethereum has never been lower in such a bull market moment. ETH is struggling to match not only the price action of BTC (which can be explained by the cycle stage) but also the hype around OG L1s (December XRP breakthrough) or the general ecosystem activity, as seen on Solana. Obviously, the Ethereum space is now way more extensive than just one chain. However, even if we consider L2s, it’s still trailing behind other chains in terms of the general growth rate.

At the same time, Ethereum is the leading provider of in-dApp transactions. It has arguably the most useful ecosystem in the crypto world and a clear development path, including L2 growth and the recently introduced zK-SNARK-based Beam Chain. 

Yet, both the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik himself, and the Beam Chain idea are criticized for the same thing – they’re too slow to adapt to the competitive environment. It has never been an easy task to balance the necessary changes with the need for maintained security (has it already become a USP of Ethereum that is prominent enough?) of over $70B TVL and many more $Bs waiting in line due to, for example, BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenization fund.

Hence, Buterin will face a real challenge as a Web3 icon next year. There is a need to create and maintain an equilibrium between:

• The faster price action. Ethereum still needs to grow. Otherwise, it’ll start losing the early adopters and will never “cross the chasm.”
• The seriousness of the entire concept compared to Solana or meme-oriented L2s and maintaining the ecosystem based on the extreme level of security.

On the other hand, if there is one visionary who has the potential to tackle it, it’s Vitalik Buterin.

Donald Trump vs. crypto promises

Main challenge: to be the man of his word

At the time of writing this report (early December 2024), the Trump trade looks better than ever. The Web3 market, regardless of the niche, loved the fact that the Republican candidate won the US elections. This is due to a broad set of direct promises for the crypto industries and indirect influences this choice may have on innovative startups as a whole.

The Trump trade was also evident before DT was announced as a winner. Despite the correlation between Polymarket bets on Trump and upward BTC price action not being exceptionally strong, the relationship was more significant than with Kamala Harris.

The correlation between Polymarket odds and the price of Bitcoin

Here’s the thing, January 2025 marks the beginning of the verification stage. Voters’ support fluctuates the most during the first 12 months of governance. Many of Trump’s promises affect a much longer term. Moreover, due to the priming bias, it’ll be very easy for DT to lose favoritism in the crypto industry if regulatory changes or governmental BTC reserves aren’t made quickly.

Below, you can find a set of Trump’s Web3 promises with the predictions of their 2025 progress. Let’s see in 12 months whether the author here was overly optimistic or defeatist.

CZ vs. out-of-Binance environment

Main challenge: staying relevant

Changpeng Zhao has been one of the most prominent and visible crypto figures over the last few years. He quickly capitalized on the opportunity to combine the world’s most prominent CEX CEO role with thought leadership. I haven’t seen equally big and enthusiastic crowds during any conference talk as when he joined (virtually!) a fireside chat with Balaji during TOKEN2049 Singapore in 2023.

Being in a different position now, the coming months, will be challenging for CZ. To say the least.

On November 21st, 2023, he stepped down as Binance’s CEO due to money laundering allegations. On April 30th, 2024, he was sentenced to 4 months in prison as he pleaded guilty. And on September 29th, he was released from prison as a new, non-CEOed person and potential book author.

The question is, what comes next for CZ besides publishing arguably one of the most expected Web3 books of all time? 

For now, the hype is still with Zhao. His influence on the recent DeSci pump was evident, and it took only one conference appearance and one tweet to ignite and later prolong it.

Such impact may be very short-lived if CZ doesn’t find “something new to stick to.” Web3 celebs, no matter how prominent, might be gone and forgotten just as quickly as any other star. Who remembers Trevor McFedries (the founder of FriendsWithBenefits) or Racer (the figure behind Friend.Tech)? Despite both being on top of Web3 community minds in 2021 and early 2024, respectively.

Changpeng Zhao is a significantly stronger and more influential figure, so 2025 should give us clear answers on where this power can be used. So, let’s speculate for a bit while:

• A comeback to the Binance CEO role? CZ himself has already rejected it.
• A web3 ambassador duty? Unlikely due to past allegations.
• A thought leader position? It’s promising and doable, but it won’t be enough for CZ to remain influential. 
• A founder of a new groundbreaking company? It’d be very promising, but it is unlikely, according to CZ’s own words.
• An angel investor? I’d see it as the most probable option for 2025. CZ’s success or failure in this area may indicate his next steps beyond the next 12 months.

Elon Musk vs. the meme culture

Main challenge: becoming as valued in crypto as he is beyond this niche

Elon Musk’s ties to the crypto world are undeniable. Whether through his Dogecoin endorsements, crypto-friendly alignment with Donald Trump, or reshaping of X (formerly Twitter) into a platform embracing Web3 principles, Musk has cemented himself as part of a culture.

Still, it always amazes me how such a prolific, smart, and visionary person may act as childish as he sometimes does on X. It contrasts sharply with his reputation as an absolute trailblazer in space exploration, renewable energy, and fintech. I guess every leader needs their archetype. And Musk himself has admitted that he thrives on crises and negativity.

Despite his stature, Musk’s role in Web3 culture feels more meme-oriented than monumental and based on contributions, maybe besides his direct influence on Doge’s price.

Note: The chart shows the average price action of given assets up to 360 seconds before publishing a tweet mentioning a specific coin and 120 seconds after posting it.

This probably doesn’t bother Musk at all. His energy and vision, not the meme part of his brain, are devoted to industries where his genius is more urgently needed.

Yet, 2025 may be the first year he can go beyond posting Doge-related tweets. Now, he has one of the biggest social networks under his governance. And he’ll have real power in Trump’s administration. Hence, if there is an opportunity to become a true Web3 icon, this is the time.  

Do we still need Web3 icons in 2025?

To be completely honest with you, the Web3 world dominated by “influential individuals” is not an appealing vision to me. Over the last couple of months, I was slightly disappointed with the herd behavior of our space and its unified excitement around a few aforementioned icons.

And, to be 100% clear, it was not related to my personal or political views. It’s just the vision of the decentralized Web3 world, where the network matters more than the individual, that has been simply forgotten and sometimes completely ignored. 

But enough of idealism – as we’ve already had too much of it since the beginning of the crypto movement. Despite my concerns and all the challenges mentioned above, 2025 may actually be the year when such prominent personalities will matter more. We live in a world that is more complex and volatile than ever. And when the United States Army War College introduced the famous VUCA concept in 1987, they had no clue that the environment for businesses may actually become exponentially more V-volatile, U-uncertain, C-complex, and A-ambiguous in the next 30-40 years.

In such a VUCA-on-steroids world, strong and influential leadership will matter more than ever before.

But what is it to you? As an entrepreneur, all the findings and stories above will hopefully serve as more than just a nice read but also as inspiration to tackle future challenges. I’m pretty sure you’ll have to tackle quite a few in the coming 12 months.

Thoughts of the Onchain research team

Web3’s tendency to idolize strong personalities stems from its decentralized nature, where trust often hinges on visible leaders. While these figures inspire loyalty and shape market trends, 2025 is poised to test their influence. 

We find Michal’s analysis both accurate and timely. In particular, we’re eager to see how these high-profile figures – Vitalik, Trump, CZ, and Elon – will respond to the challenges of 2025 and which new icons might rise to fill their shoes. 

While strong personalities in Web3 often drive loyalty and trends, founders who deliver true value and engage communities beyond hype stand the best chance of long-term success. We’ll continue keeping our finger on the pulse, sharing insights and tips that help entrepreneurs navigate this dynamic space and build sustainable, impactful projects.