Who Are the Brightest Minds in Crypto Featured Among Fortune's '40 Under 40'

Not one, but five prominent names from the crypto world graced this auspicious list of influencers, and their work in the space has clearly exceeded the bounds of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum inventor Vitalik Buterin, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, Telegram founder Pavel Durov and Robinhood co-founders Baiju Bhatt and Vlad Tenev cracked the nod, and here's a look at their respective journeys into the world of cryptocurrency and the effect they are now having on a global scale.

Vitalik Buterin is one of the most prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry.

While Bitcoin still reigns supreme as both the most widely used and most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, Ethereum has emerged as a leader in its own right - a blockchain platform that allows the development of decentralized applications.

Erin's journey into the world of cryptocurrency could be attributed to his upbringing - with his father, Dmitry Buterin, a computer programmer, credited with introducing Vitalik to Bitcoin when he was 17.

According to Wired, a trip to a cryptocurrency conference in 2013 - organized by the Winklevoss twins - provided the impetus for Buterin to explore the possibility of creating a blockchain platform that answered the many layers people were trying to build on top of Bitcoin.

From its humble beginnings in 2012, Coinbase now has a global user base of over 20 million people and has facilitated $150 billion worth of cryptocurrency trades.

Hailed as the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in America and one of the most well-known in the world, Armstrong is directly responsible for millions of people being introduced to cryptocurrencies.

The prominence of cryptocurrencies has even led to Forbes creating its very own Richest in Cryptocurrency list.

It won't be surprising to see more cryptocurrency and blockchain figures feature among these mainstream benchmarks in the years to come.