Myers-Briggs Personality Profiles of Blockchain’s Most Prominent Figures

Nicole Grinstead
4 min readMay 25, 2019

How much do you really know about the prominent blockchain figures — like John McAfee and Craig Wright — who dominate the 24-hour news cycle? Sure, you might know about the various coins and projects those people support, and that must give you some insight into who those people are. But to get to the bottom of it, I decided to assign personality types to some of crypto’s most prominent figures using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) uses 4 categories of personality to classify people into 16 types. Source: Wikipedia

Myers-Briggs (MBTI)

For those who are unfamiliar with the MBTI, it’s kind of like astrology for business people. It focuses on ranking where people fall in sixteen personality types, which help to explain how people interact with the world.

A staggering 80% of Fortune 500 companies rely on the MBTI to build stronger, more productive teams and optimize their companies’ profitability. Thus, knowing some of crypto’s prominent leaders’ personality types could help you build a stronger portfolio and maximize your profitability.

Who should you trust? Who should you be suspicious of? And which one is most like you?

Jack Dorsey — ISTP

Rational, spontaneous, unpredictable, and enthusiastic. Jack Dorsey codifies what it means to be an ISTP. Maybe that’s why Twitter’s CEO — a bitcoin fanboy– hasn’t lifted his company’s outdated ban on crypto-related ads.

Nick Szabo — ISTJ

Intensely private yet highly prolific, crypto ethusiasts have oft-credited Szabo with Bitcoin’s creation (despite Craig Wright’s yet unsubstantiated claims). Typing Szabo was difficult due to the complete lack of personal information about him on the web. But I quickly realized that clues to uncovering Szabo’s personality type lay within the cryptographer’s serious and professional disposition. Szabo’s political conservatism, calm and practical demeanor, and stubborn resistance to new ideas that he doesn’t support.

Roger Ver — ISFP

You might not suspect that a man with a nickname like “Bitcoin Jesus” would be an introvert, but Ver is. That’s because Ver — like all ISFPs — is an introvert who doesn’t seem like one. True to ISFP form, Ver frequently loses his temper and turns into a raging ego-monster during emotionally fueled debates.

Naval Ravikant — INFJ

AngelList’s Naval is an INFJ to the core. The modern day philosopher is enthusiastic, organized, and idealistic. His thoughts run deep, and he has a unique and profound way of looking at the world.

Vitalik Buterin — INTP

You’ll know you’ve met an INTP when you walk away feeling both enlightened and confused. Vitalik is a crazy-smart systems’ theorist who is attempting to solve large-scale world problems using universal patterns. Skeptical, independent, direct, and analytical. Ethereum’s co-founder is every bit the INTP.

Elon Musk — INTJ

Brilliant, decisive, determined, and sometimes short-sighted. Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO is as arrrogant as he is clueless with romance — all traits of an INTJ.

Amber Baldet — ENFJ

The “Madonna of Blockchain” is as charismatic and inspiring as can be. JPMorgan’s former blockchain lead — now CEO of Clovyr — is excellent at relating complex technical information to diverse audiences. But, like all ENFJs, Baldet may sometimes spread herself too thin.

Brock Pierce — ENFP

Like any true ENFP, Pierce is a free spirit. The people’s billionaire is adept at using his natural charm and gift of communication to control his popularity. His ENFP qualities also include spontaneity, openness, and sociability.

Changpeng Zhao — ENTJ

Don’t let CZ’s nice guy persona fool you. As the founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, CZ is as decisive, strategic, and savage as any ENTJ. Sure, he’s efficient, but how far will his typical ENTJ ruthlessness get him and his exchange? The sky is the limit.

John McAfee — ENTP

https://www.ccn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/McAfee-Gif.gif

The 2020 presidential long-shot John McAfee is quick-thinking, magnetic, and highly outspoken. But there’s more to McAfee than his outlandish predictions for Bitcoin’s future dollar value. The Bitcoin parma-bull personifies the ENTP with creative and energetic nature, as well as his argumentativeness, impracticality, and insensitivity to others.

Laura Shin — ESFP

Such a natural on her podcast Unchained, ESFP Laura Shin was born to entertain. Adaptable, expressive, and action-oriented, the journalist enjoys sharing her knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Craig Wright — ESFJ

Popular and social, ESFJs like Dr. Wright hate when rules change. Maybe that’s why he created BSV (and according to him, the original Bitcoin as well). Like others with this personality type, when Wright’s feelings are hurt, he becomes aggresively defensive. Maybe that explains Wright’s on-going feuds with McAfee and CZ. Like a true ESFJ, Wright is concerned with his social status, and it seems unlikely that someone with this characteristic would have anonymously created Bitcoin. But, I suppose, time will tell.

Charlie Lee — ESFP

Blockchain enthusiasts can all agree that Litecoin’s creator Charlie Lee is difficult to decode. While some respect him for liquidating his LTC portfolio, others suspect that he took advantage of his position by selling at the coin’s all-time high. Having contradictory feelings towards an ESTP is very common. Outgoing, perceptive, and persuasive — like other ESTPs — Lee’s determination and insolence may lead him into many risky endeavors.

Using the MBTI

Although the MBTI isn’t perfect, knowing prominent crypto figures’ personality types can provide a window to help explain why each person thinks and acts the way they do. It might even help to determine which of these leaders we can trust, and whose advice we should take with a grain of salt.

Did I leave someone out? And what’s your Myers-Briggs? Let me know in the comments below!

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Nicole Grinstead

I’m a freelance journalist and content creator, blockchain enthusiast, HUGE nerd, and mom to one awesome kid!