Celebrities that rode the crypto wave in 2021

Overshadowing its glory in previous years, the crypto ecosystem managed to maintain a year-long spotlight throughout 2021. Key catalysts include mainstream adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), a meme coin frenzy driven by Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE), and proactive participation from popular celebrities and authority figures.

The year 2021 witnessed a greater inflow of influencers and celebrities to the space than ever before. All the way from mainstream tech entrepreneurs and presidents to rappers and reality TV stars, celebrities have gotten involved in crypto in their own unique ways. While some chose to create their own versions of crypto ecosystems and tokens, others helped spread awareness of various projects. 

As a tribute to all those who showed involvement in our world of crypto, let’s check out some of the most influential celebrities that left a mark on the crypto ecosystem, in no particular order.

Snoop Dogg

Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg has always been an early adopter and promoter of technology and lifestyle merchandise. Although a little late, the musician entered the crypto space via an NFT collaboration named “Decentralized Dogg.” 

Snoop’s mainstream popularity has also led many token creators to market Snoop Dogg-branded cryptocurrencies over the past few years, but the musician has warned investors of having no involvement in such projects.

NEW ARTWORK RELEASE
Coldie x @SnoopDogg
Decentral Eyes Dogg
1/1 on @SuperRare
Auction ends Dec 3 5p PT/8p ET

Art by Coldie
Exclusive audio by @SnoopDogg
Coming together to keep it fun & experimental.

The final 1/1 release of the Decentral Eyes Portrait Series in the OG style pic.twitter.com/ckk71dmP5d

— Coldie (@Coldie) November 29, 2021

Nayib Bukele

As the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele has been the torchbearer for Bitcoin’s mainstream adoption as a legal tender. In addition to playing a major role in legalizing Bitcoin and building a relevant infrastructure to support the Bitcoin economy, Bukele remains active on Twitter to announce the various Bitcoin-driven initiatives of his government. 

Despite strong initial opposition against Bitcoin’s use, Bukele now procures Bitcoin every time its market value goes down. Complementing this move, the Salvadoran government has been reinvesting unrealized gains from Bitcoin to fast-track the development of the Central American country.

First steps…

#Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/duhHvmEnym

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021

Elon Musk 

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made his mark on crypto when he started publicly endorsing Dogecoin (DOGE) back in 2020. However, Musk continues to show support for the meme coin by committing to accept payments in DOGE for various products and services offered by his companies.

As a result of Musk’s support, the market price of the DOGE token has surged multi-fold despite being created for the purpose of mocking the crypto ecosystem. DOGE’s popularity has also sprouted dog-based meme tokens, Shiba Inu (SHIB) being one of the most prominent. 

Watch: TIME’s 2021 Person of the Year @elonmusk discusses cryptocurrency #TIMEPOY https://t.co/FfwEGxW7LX pic.twitter.com/5BXAZky0LS

— TIME (@TIME) December 13, 2021

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka, a top professional tennis player from Japan, announced her entry into the crypto space after diversifying her portfolio in cryptocurrency, noticing the hype around Dogecoin.

Osaka’s introduction to crypto was fueled by the crypto community on Twitter. The athlete has also launched and promoted various NFT initiatives, and in the process, has made a record as the most expensive NFTs being sold by a professional tennis player.

Lionel Messi

The international soccer legend Lionel Messi was one of the most high-profile players to get linked with the crypto ecosystem in 2021. When Messi signed the deal to join Paris Saint-Germain football club, a part of the salary package included payment in the club’s fan tokens. 

Fan tokens are part of a growing sub-ecosystem that aims to increase fan engagement by allowing them to weigh in on certain club decisions. Other popular soccer clubs that have introduced fan tokens include Manchester City and AC Milan, just to name a couple.

Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg’s entry into crypto has been long-awaited ever since Facebook released the white paper for the Libra cryptocurrency back in 2019. Despite federal pressure to end experimentations with crypto, Zuckerberg rebranded his social media company Facebook to Meta on Oct. 28, positioning itself as an early bird of the budding metaverse ecosystem.

Meta envisions developing a centralized metaverse world that can serve as a revenue source for online creators. Following Zuckerberg’s footsteps, major tech giants including Microsoft, Epic Games and Alibaba have started exploring business opportunities within the metaverse ecosystem. 

Announcing @Meta — the Facebook company’s new name. Meta is helping to build the metaverse, a place where we’ll play…