China, long regarded as a global technology powerhouse, has been at the forefront of blockchain innovation despite regulatory complexities surrounding cryptocurrencies. While centralized exchanges and public crypto trading have faced restrictions, China's contribution to the Web3 ecosystem—through infrastructure, hardware, research, and enterprise blockchain solutions—has been immense.

This article spotlights 50 of the most influential Web3 leaders in China, categorized across protocol innovation, venture capital, infrastructure, policy, and public influence. These individuals are not only advancing blockchain technology but also shaping the future of decentralized finance, digital identity, NFTs, and the metaverse within and beyond China.

Da is best known for founding NEO, one of China's earliest and most prominent public blockchains. NEO supports smart contracts and digital identities and aims to create a smart economy powered by blockchain technology.

Patrick co-founded Qtum, a platform that combines Bitcoin's security model with Ethereum's smart contract functionality. He is a vocal advocate for hybrid blockchain models suitable for enterprise adoption.

Former CIO of Louis Vuitton China, Sunny founded VeChain, a supply chain-focused blockchain protocol designed to ensure transparency and traceability for global enterprises.

A pioneer of regulated digital asset services in Asia, Xiao Feng leads HashKey, which focuses on compliant trading, custody, and Web3 advisory services.

Founder of Bytom, a protocol designed for asset tokenization. Duan’s background at OKCoin and his focus on interoperability has made Bytom an important player in China’s enterprise blockchain narrative.

Lu built Wanchain as an interoperability protocol connecting multiple blockchain networks. Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure supports DeFi and enterprise blockchain solutions.

CyberVein is a data management blockchain focused on enterprise-level usage. Kevin has led its strategic development, especially in smart city applications.

Founder of TRON and the face of high-profile acquisitions like BitTorrent and Poloniex, Justin is a polarizing but undeniably influential figure in the global Web3 space.

Jihan co-founded Bitmain, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer, and now leads Bitdeer, a digital asset mining firm listed on NASDAQ.

Leon founded Huobi in 2013. Despite China’s clampdown on exchanges, Huobi pivoted to global markets, maintaining a strong influence in Asia’s crypto trading ecosystem.

Founder of OKCoin and its evolution into OKX, Xu built one of the most widely used global trading platforms, offering services across spot, futures, and DeFi.

Co-founder of Bitmain with Jihan Wu, Zhan was instrumental in engineering the Antminer chips that dominate global crypto mining.

Yang developed ViaBTC, one of the largest mining pools, and CoinEx, a global exchange offering scalable blockchain infrastructure.

A young DeFi prodigy, Ruan founded Parallel Finance, a lending and staking platform on Polkadot that’s drawn major VC backing.

Former Binance exec and now CEO of Trust Wallet, she leads one of the world’s largest non-custodial wallets, promoting crypto self-sovereignty globally.

A leading Web3 investor and opinion leader, Kevin is active in promoting DeFi protocols and contributing to China’s blockchain think tanks.

Daniel co-founded Loopring, a zk-rollup protocol focused on scaling Ethereum with decentralized exchange capabilities.

Victor co-leads Manta Network, a privacy-preserving modular blockchain that integrates zero-knowledge proofs for DeFi applications.

Founder of Dragonfly Capital, Bo has helped bridge the East-West crypto investment gap. Dragonfly backs top-tier Web3 projects globally.

CEO of ZhenFund, she is one of China’s top early-stage VCs, with investments in fintech, AI, and Web3 infrastructure.

Though originally from the US, Matthew operates from China and invests heavily in Asian Web3 startups, playing a crucial role in regional growth.

Zhang leads JRR Crypto, a blockchain investment fund focused on public chains, cross-border applications, and infrastructure.

A Stanford physicist and early blockchain VC, Zhang's vision helped validate academic and institutional interest in crypto.

Chen leads one of China’s top blockchain research labs, frequently consulted by government agencies.

Founder of FISCO BCOS, a consortium chain backed by Chinese banking giants, enabling enterprise blockchain adoption across industries.

One of the earliest crypto VCs, Shen co-founded Fenbushi with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. He is a key supporter of Web3 infrastructure.

A leading government researcher on blockchain standardization and application within China’s “new infrastructure” policy.

An economist and investor, Jennifer works at the intersection of data ownership, AI, and decentralized technologies.

A partner at IOSG Ventures, Jocy is a frequent speaker and thought leader supporting open-source and Web3 communities.

Though based in the US, Elaine’s Chinese heritage and technical breakthroughs in blockchain privacy, consensus, and formal verification are foundational to many projects.

Michael is one of the most influential blockchain educators in the Chinese-speaking world, bridging Western and Asian audiences.

While CoinGecko is Malaysian, Bobby's influence as a Chinese-speaking founder is widespread, especially among Chinese DeFi users.

A former pork trader turned crypto evangelist, Guo is symbolic of China’s grassroots crypto movement and is known for his viral crypto advocacy.

Co-founder of F2Pool, one of the world’s largest mining pools. Shenyu is deeply respected in the Chinese mining community.

Another F2Pool co-founder, Chun has helped maintain China’s lead in Bitcoin and Ethereum mining for much of the last decade.

Based in Hong Kong, Yat is a powerful force behind Web3 gaming and NFTs. Animoca is a major investor in over 400 blockchain companies.

Though U.S.-based, Kevin is a native Mandarin speaker and frequent commentator on Chinese policy and its effects on crypto markets.

A policy advisor and early blockchain supporter, Cao engages with both private enterprises and state policy forums.

Liu leads blockchain innovation within Ant Group, focusing on supply chain finance and digital contracts.

Former CFO of Binance, Zhou now leads Coins.ph and plays a vital role in crypto education and exchange growth in Southeast Asia.

While not all leaders are in the limelight, China’s Web3 growth is also driven by:

• Technical leads at IRISnet, Conflux, and PlatON

• Developers behind imToken, China’s most used mobile wallet

• Academics at Peking University and Tsinghua contributing to blockchain security

• Cross-border founders building zkSync, Scroll, and other Ethereum L2s from a Chinese base

Despite facing one of the strictest crypto regulatory environments, China's Web3 ecosystem is thriving beneath the surface. With deep technical talent, robust infrastructure, and global-facing entrepreneurs, Chinese builders continue to shape blockchain’s future.

Whether through layer-1 protocols, zero-knowledge technology, institutional custody, or NFT gaming, these 50 leaders illustrate the diverse and powerful force that China represents in Web3’s global evolution.

China, long regarded as a global technology powerhouse, has been at the forefront of blockchain innovation despite regulatory complexities surrounding cryptocurrencies. While centralized exchanges and public crypto trading have faced restrictions, China's contribution to the Web3 ecosystem—through infrastructure, hardware, research, and enterprise blockchain solutions—has been immense.

This article spotlights 50 of the most influential Web3 leaders in China, categorized across protocol innovation, venture capital, infrastructure, policy, and public influence. These individuals are not only advancing blockchain technology but also shaping the future of decentralized finance, digital identity, NFTs, and the metaverse within and beyond China.

Da is best known for founding NEO, one of China's earliest and most prominent public blockchains. NEO supports smart contracts and digital identities and aims to create a smart economy powered by blockchain technology.

Patrick co-founded Qtum, a platform that combines Bitcoin's security model with Ethereum's smart contract functionality. He is a vocal advocate for hybrid blockchain models suitable for enterprise adoption.

Former CIO of Louis Vuitton China, Sunny founded VeChain, a supply chain-focused blockchain protocol designed to ensure transparency and traceability for global enterprises.

A pioneer of regulated digital asset services in Asia, Xiao Feng leads HashKey, which focuses on compliant trading, custody, and Web3 advisory services.

Founder of Bytom, a protocol designed for asset tokenization. Duan’s background at OKCoin and his focus on interoperability has made Bytom an important player in China’s enterprise blockchain narrative.

Lu built Wanchain as an interoperability protocol connecting multiple blockchain networks. Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure supports DeFi and enterprise blockchain solutions.

CyberVein is a data management blockchain focused on enterprise-level usage. Kevin has led its strategic development, especially in smart city applications.

Founder of TRON and the face of high-profile acquisitions like BitTorrent and Poloniex, Justin is a polarizing but undeniably influential figure in the global Web3 space.

Jihan co-founded Bitmain, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer, and now leads Bitdeer, a digital asset mining firm listed on NASDAQ.

Leon founded Huobi in 2013. Despite China’s clampdown on exchanges, Huobi pivoted to global markets, maintaining a strong influence in Asia’s crypto trading ecosystem.

Founder of OKCoin and its evolution into OKX, Xu built one of the most widely used global trading platforms, offering services across spot, futures, and DeFi.

Co-founder of Bitmain with Jihan Wu, Zhan was instrumental in engineering the Antminer chips that dominate global crypto mining.

Yang developed ViaBTC, one of the largest mining pools, and CoinEx, a global exchange offering scalable blockchain infrastructure.

A young DeFi prodigy, Ruan founded Parallel Finance, a lending and staking platform on Polkadot that’s drawn major VC backing.

Former Binance exec and now CEO of Trust Wallet, she leads one of the world’s largest non-custodial wallets, promoting crypto self-sovereignty globally.

A leading Web3 investor and opinion leader, Kevin is active in promoting DeFi protocols and contributing to China’s blockchain think tanks.

Daniel co-founded Loopring, a zk-rollup protocol focused on scaling Ethereum with decentralized exchange capabilities.

Victor co-leads Manta Network, a privacy-preserving modular blockchain that integrates zero-knowledge proofs for DeFi applications.

Founder of Dragonfly Capital, Bo has helped bridge the East-West crypto investment gap. Dragonfly backs top-tier Web3 projects globally.

CEO of ZhenFund, she is one of China’s top early-stage VCs, with investments in fintech, AI, and Web3 infrastructure.

Though originally from the US, Matthew operates from China and invests heavily in Asian Web3 startups, playing a crucial role in regional growth.

Zhang leads JRR Crypto, a blockchain investment fund focused on public chains, cross-border applications, and infrastructure.

A Stanford physicist and early blockchain VC, Zhang's vision helped validate academic and institutional interest in crypto.

Chen leads one of China’s top blockchain research labs, frequently consulted by government agencies.

Founder of FISCO BCOS, a consortium chain backed by Chinese banking giants, enabling enterprise blockchain adoption across industries.

One of the earliest crypto VCs, Shen co-founded Fenbushi with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. He is a key supporter of Web3 infrastructure.

A leading government researcher on blockchain standardization and application within China’s “new infrastructure” policy.

An economist and investor, Jennifer works at the intersection of data ownership, AI, and decentralized technologies.

A partner at IOSG Ventures, Jocy is a frequent speaker and thought leader supporting open-source and Web3 communities.

Though based in the US, Elaine’s Chinese heritage and technical breakthroughs in blockchain privacy, consensus, and formal verification are foundational to many projects.

Michael is one of the most influential blockchain educators in the Chinese-speaking world, bridging Western and Asian audiences.

While CoinGecko is Malaysian, Bobby's influence as a Chinese-speaking founder is widespread, especially among Chinese DeFi users.

A former pork trader turned crypto evangelist, Guo is symbolic of China’s grassroots crypto movement and is known for his viral crypto advocacy.

Co-founder of F2Pool, one of the world’s largest mining pools. Shenyu is deeply respected in the Chinese mining community.

Another F2Pool co-founder, Chun has helped maintain China’s lead in Bitcoin and Ethereum mining for much of the last decade.

Based in Hong Kong, Yat is a powerful force behind Web3 gaming and NFTs. Animoca is a major investor in over 400 blockchain companies.

Though U.S.-based, Kevin is a native Mandarin speaker and frequent commentator on Chinese policy and its effects on crypto markets.

A policy advisor and early blockchain supporter, Cao engages with both private enterprises and state policy forums.

Liu leads blockchain innovation within Ant Group, focusing on supply chain finance and digital contracts.

Former CFO of Binance, Zhou now leads Coins.ph and plays a vital role in crypto education and exchange growth in Southeast Asia.

While not all leaders are in the limelight, China’s Web3 growth is also driven by:

• Technical leads at IRISnet, Conflux, and PlatON

• Developers behind imToken, China’s most used mobile wallet

• Academics at Peking University and Tsinghua contributing to blockchain security

• Cross-border founders building zkSync, Scroll, and other Ethereum L2s from a Chinese base

Despite facing one of the strictest crypto regulatory environments, China's Web3 ecosystem is thriving beneath the surface. With deep technical talent, robust infrastructure, and global-facing entrepreneurs, Chinese builders continue to shape blockchain’s future.

Whether through layer-1 protocols, zero-knowledge technology, institutional custody, or NFT gaming, these 50 leaders illustrate the diverse and powerful force that China represents in Web3’s global evolution.