On April 10, Fortune unveiled the “Fortune Crypto 40,” which it claims to be an industry first. The top five bitcoin companies in each of the eight categories are highlighted on this analysis-based list, which uses both analysis and executive polls to choose the winners.
The Crypto 40, according to a Fortune article unveiling the index, is a “definitive list of the most significant crypto companies.” The Crypto 40 was created to spotlight the firms and their technology — as opposed to the popularity of the people and teams driving them, according to an accompanying link outlining the methodology.
According to the Fortune crew, “currently, there are no such rankings for the crypto industry. While there are many lists, nearly all of them reflect the personal preferences of a small number of editors, and most focus on individuals rather than companies.”
TradFi, CeFi, NFTs, Venture Capital, Data and Analytics Companies, Infrastructure Firms, Blockchain Protocol Firms, and DeFi are the eight unique categories that make up The Fortune Crypto 40.
There are some surprises on the list, even if the typical suspects are all there, with Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken grabbing the top ranks in CeFi, PayPal dominating TradFi, and OpenSea claiming the top spot in the NFT rankings.
Surprisingly, Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin in the rankings for protocols, with Polygon beating out Solana for third place. Ledger and Genesis Digital Assets won the infrastructure race, placing ahead of Bitmain, which finished third.
The Blockchain Protocol Firms category wasn’t Ethereum’s lone triumph; the other five winners in the DeFi category, Uniswap Labs, Lido, MakerDAO, Aave, and Curve, are all businesses that use the Ethereum blockchain for their technologies.
Although it’s obvious that the biggest, most prosperous businesses make up the majority of the list, Fortune stated that future editions would focus more on emerging crypto businesses because they “disrupt and grab the crowns of complacent incumbents.”
