A study conducted in 2021 showed that of the 121 leading crypto companies, only five were founded by women. However, even though this number is very low, there are women that have contributed to the development of the crypto world immensely. So, how about checking who they are? Note: the last person on the list is someone who doesn’t like being public but has probably made the biggest impact on the industry. Nicole Muniz Former CEO of Yuga Labs, Yuga Labs’ strategic partner and advisor Before Nicole Muniz joined Yuga Labs, she had had the experience of working at JWT and B-Reel. She had her own creative agency called Something New that worked for such brands as Nike and EA. In the last quarter of 2021, Nicole became the CEO of Yuga Labs where she oversaw considerable initiatives of the company and assisted in not just surviving the crypto winter but launching new initiatives. Here are some milestones achieved by her in the company. Yuga Labs and BAYC become household names BAYC becomes a synonym of NFTs worldwide CryptoPunks and Meebits were acquired by Yuga Labs Yuga brings Beeple’s Web3 ecosystem Wenew under its wing The Otherside, BAYC’s metaverse was launched ApeCoin was launched and rallied to a multibillion-dollar market cap on the first day after its launch. In 2023, Muniz was replaced by Daniel Alegre in the CEO position, but she stays a strategic partner and an advisor, and it is expected that with her initiatives, she will continue playing an important role in the company. Elizabeth Stark CEO and co-founder of Lightning Labs Elizabeth Stark entered crypto not by accident. She is a computer scientist and a blockchain entrepreneur, and she used to teach courses on P2P technology and privacy at Stanford and Yale. In 2016, Stark became a co-founder of Lightning Labs, a layer-2 scaling solution for Bitcoin. In 2022, Lightning Network became available as a deposit and withdrawal method for Kraken. The same year, the company raised $70 mln to develop the Taro protocol that enables sending stablecoins across the network. Stripe made Lightning Network transactions available to several Shopify stores. 2023 is also promising to both the company and its CEO. So, MicroStrategy is going to launch some software-as-a-service products based on the Lightning Network. Some other milestones are going to be taken, too. Along with Lightning Labs, Stark also works for Coin Center, a non-profit organization, where she advocates for public policy initiatives that support cryptocurrencies. Cynthia Lummis The U.S. senator Cynthia Lummis purchased some crypto in 2013 and is one of the few senators in the U.S. Congress who supports cryptocurrency. She has always been supporting initiatives in favor of cryptocurrency adoption in the United States. Here is a short timeline of her activities in the Senate. 2021 - assistance in the preparation and launching of the Senate Financial Innovation Caucus. 2022 - assistance in the preparation and introduction of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act aimed at addressing stablecoin regulation, the tax treatment of digital assets, and other important matters in the crypto market. 2023 is expected to be a difficult year for Cynthia Lummis as her boss Sherrod Brown is a crypto opponent, and crypto firms in the USA are facing scrutiny. However, it is expected that she will stay in Congress until 2027, and thus, some support to crypto will be provided. Caitlin Long Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank Caitlin Long is a Bitcoin supporter, an entrepreneur, and a Wall Street veteran. She was a managing director for Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse in 2016. Further, she was chairman and president of Symbiont.io, a smart contract platform, and in 2020, she launched Custodia Bank, previously known as Avanti Financial Group. Custodia is a payment system provider and a custodian of digital assets. The bank aimed at bridging the gap between the US dollar and Bitcoin, along with other digital assets. Long wanted Custodia to become a Federal Reserve Member and a Federal and Deposit Insurance Corporation Bank, but the responses to her applications were delayed. Caitlin Long remains very optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency despite all the unfavorable events and continues to be one of the most prominent spokeswomen in the industry. Meltem Demirors Coinshares’ Chief Strategy Officer Before turning to crypto, Meltem Demirors worked for multiple companies, among which we can see such names as Dow Chemical, Deloitte Consulting, and even Digital Currency Group. In 2018, she connected her career with Coinshares, the largest in Europe digital asset investment and trading group. Since 2018, she has been there in the position of Chief Strategy Officer. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Blockchain. Demirors takes part in many conferences, talk shows, and TV programs and continues being a protector of civil and privacy rights and blockchain as a technology that would bring equality to the entire world. Demirors believes that Bitcoin will overcome all difficulties, restart a new bull run in 2023, and reach another all-time high in 2024. She also believes that crypto shall be regulated; however, the interests of the crypto market shall be considered in the first place. Yi He Binance co-founder and the Head of Binance Labs Yi He is a Binance co-founder. She has a significant share in the company (isn’t disclosed) and was responsible for the company’s marketing strategy and brand image until 2022. Now, Yi He is the Head of Binance Labs. Yi He is a woman that made her career on her own, without owing it to her parent’s fortune or support. She grew up in a rural area in China in a very poor family. Her first job was promoting soft drinks giving free samples in front of a local supermarket. In 2012, she started working for a Chinese Television Channel as a TV show host for a travel show. In 2013, she learned about Bitcoin, and in 2014, she switched to work in the cryptocurrency industry. She also became a co-founder of OKCoin and led the startup to become the biggest crypto-to-fiat exchange in China. Further, she served as vice president of Yixia Technology, a video-sharing company. In 2017, her former colleague from OKCoin, Changpeng Zhao, invited her to join a new startup: Binance. After the company raised $15 mln in the Initial Public Offering, CZ offered Yi He to join Binance. She remembers that it was a difficult decision for her because she had to quit a better-paying job. When she finally agreed and left her position as vice president, the BNB token crashed by 50%. She served as CMO until August 2022. Now, Yi He is the head of Binance Labs, a VC arm of Binance. He is also involved in multiple charitable initiatives such as Binance Charity Foundation and Binance for Children. Even though Yi He is more reserved on social networks than CZ, she is respected in the world of cryptocurrency and is for sure one of the most influential women in the sector.
