Naval Ravikant was instrumental in initiating the whole concept of decentralisation, cryptocurrencies and crowdfunding, with a blog post in 2014 titled \"The Bitcoin Model for Crowdfunding.\" This essay, in the opinion of many experts, showed the way to the eventual conceptualisation of ICOs and token launches, and described Bitcoin as \"a model and platform for true crowdfunding – open, distributed and liquid all the way.\"

As co-founder and CEO of AngelList in 2010, an online platform to help raise seed funding, Ravikant connected accredited investors with early-stage technological start-ups. Opportunities were made available to financial backers outside Silicon Valley as well as inside it, breaking the mould of traditional tech industry investment. In 2017, his vision of a blockchain future was bolstered with the launch of a new investment platform, CoinList, which vets prospective token buyers in ICOs to ensure they are accredited investors.

Ravikant is something of a seer. He predicts a radical change in human history where decentralised blockchain technology will import markets into all fields, not merely financial. With everyone becoming their own bank, he also sees cryptocurrency as forming a bulwark for worldwide personal freedom, especially in areas of oppressive government. In what may be 2017\'s most popular tweet, Ravikant has been virally quoted: \"Bitcoin is a tool for freeing humanity from oligarchs and tyrants, dressed up as a get-rich-quick scheme.\"