CoinDesk releases top five analysts and traders in cryptocurrency list

CoinDesk's bitcoin and blockchain research team has compiled lists of the top five analysts and traders in the now $200bn cryptocurrency industry. The researchers behind the quarterly State of Blockchain Report used comprehensive data, survey sentiment and cross-referencing over 100 public-facing candidates to generate their Top 5 Traders and Top 5 Analysts of 2017.

Director of Research Nolan Bauerle said: "The list goes beyond identifying the people who are writing the book on data points and key price indicators in crypto. The list shows a significant culture shift from the insular and cloistered Wall Street culture to digital currency's open, globally accessible and readily shared information environment. The factors we considered for the list included depth of analysis published, cryptocurrency charts produced, amount of Twitter followers, blockchain industry experience, incumbent financial industry experience (a bonus for having both), votes during the State of Blockchain sentiment surveys, and several other analytical data points."

The Top 5 Analysts who made the list are Cryptoassets author Chris Burniske; former Wall Street analyst and Head of Research at Blockchain Capital Spencer Bogart; independent investor and economist Tuur Demeester, Founding Partner at Tetras Capital Alex Sunnarborg; and cult cryptocurrency icon Willy Woo. Analysts were awarded bonus points based on their transparency on multiple platforms, the most impactful being Twitter.

The Top 5 Traders, some of whom prefer their online aliases, include the most prolific sports gambler in the world Haralobos "Bob" Voulgaris, (who turned Mark Cuban from calling Bitcoin a 'bubble' to backing an ICO months later); veteran trader Peter Brandt; Twitter juggernauts ฿TF%$D! and CryptoCobain; as well as infamous Bitcoin maximalist and altcoin cynic Tone Vays.

"Weight of influence through transparency and accessibility was a key factor for selection, because these are the people helping to educate an often ill-informed audience on the promise and potential of cryptocurrency. I'm looking forward to these annual listicles, particularly adding details like estimated worth, largest trades, age and favorite investments in the future," Bauerle said.

Honorable mentions include Goldman Sachs Chief of Technical Analysis, Sheba Jafari, investor Ian Balina and Crypto Twitter celebrities Wolf of Poloniex and Whale Panda.

Many of CoinDesk's Top 10, including four of the five analysts and at least one of the traders, will speak at the upcoming Consensus Invest on 28 November in New York City.