...By Judah Olanisebee for TDPel Media.
Unpredictable Paths of Crypto Icons: Reflections from a CoinDesk Journalist
In an interview with Decrypt, Danny Bradbury, a journalist who has been covering the crypto space for over a decade, reflected on the unpredictable trajectories of some of the industry’s most prominent figures.
From Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, to Katie Haun, a prominent venture capitalist, and even Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, Bradbury noted that it would have been difficult for most people to predict where they ended up today.
The Early Days of Coinbase: A Pivotal Moment
Bradbury recounted his interview with Brian Armstrong in 2014, when Armstrong came to London as part of Coinbase’s world tour.
At that time, Coinbase was competing with Blockchain Dot Info as a wallet service, with no exchange business.
It was during the world tour that they pivoted to become a brokerage.
Bradbury remembered the packed house at the Coin Scrum meetup that evening, where Armstrong gave his talk and was heckled by a group of people led by Amir Taaki, one of the most prominent Bitcoin Core developers at the time.
Bradbury noted that even then, Armstrong was even-tempered and tried to respond to the hecklers’ criticisms point by point, but he eventually got drowned out.
The scene was endearing, reflecting the motley crew of people in the space back then.
Unlikely Beginnings of Crypto Titans
Bradbury also reflected on the early days of crypto meetups and bars, where people like Gavin Wood and Vitalik Buterin would try to convince others about the potential of their projects, such as Ethereum.
Bradbury noted that from these unlikely beginnings, some of the industry’s figures have become “corporate titans of the day.”
