In 2017, during the unmoored initial coin offering (ICO) boom, celebrities were paid shills. Remember when Dennis Rodman promoted Potcoin in North Korea and DJ Khaled endorsed Centra’s ICO? This year, celebrities also jumped the bandwagon, but in a somewhat more wholesome way, promoting the emergent world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). This also drew jeers, but the impact of celebrities in moving mainstream audiences to crypto was undeniable. Musicians like 3LAU made the case for NFTs, while hotel heiress Paris Hilton was a surprisingly eloquent advocate for crypto.
The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021
