Yearn’s Andre Cronje wins DeFi ‘Person of the Year’ award

The Yearn Finance founder bagged the award for his massive contribution to the decentralised finance sector

The rise of decentralised finance has arguably disrupted the financial landscape, fueling many developments, particularly in the crypto space. One of the few people that has significantly contributed to its growth from the nascent stage is Andre Cronje.

An influential force

DeFi analysis platform DeFi Prime put together a couple of ‘mover and shaker’ names in the industry in 2020. The platform didn’t disclose the criteria used to compile the list topped by Andre Cronje.

The platform described him as “…an incredibly humble and skilled leader who’s laid the blueprint for how to create great DeFi services in collaboration with a committed global community of stakeholders.”

Chainlink’s Sergey Nazarov also appeared on the list for his commitment to developing the project that has proven to be the key to oracle-driven data and price feeds. He is joined by Hayden Adams, who founded Uniswap – an Ethereum-based decentralised exchange. Aave’s co-founder and chief executive, Stani Kulechov, also had a spot on the list.

Other names that featured include Robert Leshner (Compound Finance) and Kain Warwick (Synthetix). The list also had a couple of coders – Yearn developer ‘banteg,’ ‘samczsun’ and SushiSwap’s ‘Chef Nomi.’

A few names were noticeably absent, including Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and Sam Bankman-Fried, who was listed among top crypto leaders by Forbes.

An architect with mixed feelings for his art

Cronje is a renowned figure in the crypto space, and while he may not share the same sentiments, his work in DeFi has not gone unnoticed. In a 2019 interview with Crypto Zombie, the Yearn Finance founder revealed he was ambivalent about the industry.

Coindesk’s Brady Dale has covered several stories on the man. He once reported Cronje was considering quitting DeFi – a story that didn’t sit well with Cronje as he had told Dale not to cover it. Today, the man barely has anything good to say about the crypto space, as Coindesk reported.

The media outlet recently had a confabulation with Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave, one of the few to have worked closely with Cronje. Asked about Cronje, Kulechov said, “Knowing Andre, he doesn’t care too much about the financial aspect. Even if he cares, he won’t care that much. It’s more about products – creating something and people saying: ‘That’s cool.’ He’s a builder at heart.”