Women kicking ass in crypto in 2023
Over the past few years, the crypto industry has grown exponentially, with many branches growing from this ever-growing tree of wisdom. Although the industry is mature, the crypto market is still young and is a suitable playground for any entrepreneurial mindset.
Fortunately, women have taken the opportunity to join the crypto gold rush, and their efforts are already paying off with significant contributions and achievements in the crypto industry.
Crypto is trending to include more women
Crypto has many sectors but its main function comes from the integration of technology and finance. Both sectors are traditionally dominated by men, but more women are entering the crypto industry as investors, founders or as part of the workforce.
In the year A 2022 diversity study by Forex Suggest examined the board members of the 30 largest crypto companies.
While there are some successes, such as Chinalysis, which has nearly 50% female representation among its board members, more work needs to be done. Many companies struggle to have more than 20% female representation or one woman on the board or in senior positions.
Crypto has been accused of having a “bro” culture, but it seems to be maturing in a different direction. The growth of women's representation in the crypto scene Appeared at crypto meetings in 2023. Victoria Gago, CEO of the European Blockchain Convention (ECB), confirmed to Cointelegraph that female attendees and speakers have steadily grown. While it was challenging to find female representatives in the crypto scene years ago, women represented 30% of the most recent ECB.
Additionally, Generation Z and Generation Y (millennials), women who are new to investing, are willing to put their money in crypto before anything else.
The most influential woman in crypto in 2023
In the year As 2023 ends, it's time to recognize all the most hardworking and influential women in crypto, all adding value to the entire crypto ecosystem. They will be listed in no particular order, and Cointelegraph congratulates and thanks them for their efforts.
Cathy Wood: Businessperson of the Year
Cathy Wood's playground seems to be the financial sector. In the year She worked as a portfolio manager for several hedge funds before founding ARK Investment Management in 2014. As of January 2023, the US-based investment firm manages more than $6 billion in investor assets.
As ARK's CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Wood was a prominent figure in the recent bear market. Even in the depths of crypto winter, Wood has made strategic and successful purchases.
A significant part of this success was her bet on Coinbase. Wood bought Coinbase shares in the wake of an open complaint from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its stock-as-a-service program. It bought about three million shares between the first and second quarters of 2023, at an average price of $59 per share. ARK bought shares of Coinbase after the price dropped nearly 20% overnight after the SEC allegations were made public. In the year In the fourth quarter of 2023, as Coinbase's stock price continued to rise, ARK began selling its exposure by buying the trader's textbook dip and selling the rip.
Wood seems to have a good feel for predicting the crypto market. In an interview with Bloomberg in June, she had gambled on the possible collapse of Binance in the US market, benefiting her investment in Coinbase.
“We have Binance under regulatory scrutiny for more criminal activity, fraud being one of them; so, we have competition for Coinbase to disappear, so that's a good thing for Coinbase in the long run.”
A few months later, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was forced to step down as CEO in a plea deal with US authorities, pleading guilty to charges by the US Department of Justice. While Wood's flagship Ark Innovation ETF has enjoyed a 30% rally since November, ARK has been taking profits from Coinbase trading.
Wood can be considered one of the best high-level traders of the year. The CEO of ARK recently expressed interest in the latest hot trend in crypto traders, the integration between crypto and AI.
The integration between Bitcoin – and AI – can change the organization of companies, leading to a collapse in costs and an explosion in productivity. I am blown away by the possibilities these amazing entrepreneurs are creating. Look for this podcast on Thursdays! https://t.co/kPW92CuhFQ
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) September 2, 2023
She is also pushing for the approval of ARK's own space Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Wood is a Bitcoin (BTC) bull, suggesting that BTC will reach $1.48 million per coin in 2030.
Tiffany Fong: Crypto Whistles.
Tiffany Fong, a content creator who shunned the word influencer, got into crypto in 2011 when a relative gave her Bitcoin as a Christmas present.
As the Celsius storm continued, she was contacted by convicted crypto criminal and former CEO of FTX, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried. After several messages, Fong did a phone interview with non-journalistic purposes, which she later released. In a series of controversial comments, SBF admits to Fong's secret donation to the US Republican Party, and reporters get all riled up for being “super liberal.”
According to Fong, SBF wanted to use her to justify not paying the $250 million in cash for the guarantee. To her disbelief, Fong inadvertently became an influential source in 2023's most significant crypto industry issues.
look ma, I'm on the front page of the New York Times, “I don't know why I'm here.” pic.twitter.com/FycnfzhdeQ
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) October 22, 2023
In the year In 2023, she extensively covered the SBF trial for a new series on her YouTube channel. She says that she has many unpublished archived documents of communications with SBF, including audio recordings, that there may be surprises in the future.
Hester Piece: Gary Gensler's antagonist
The SEC has defined 2023 in crypto, and under former chairman Jay Clayton, the SEC filed a 2020 crypto industry under-fuse against Ripple for allegedly committing a $1.3 billion fraud in the sale of XRP (XRP). Retail investors. Gary Gensler took over as SEC chairman in 2021 with a more aggressive approach. The SEC upped the ante in 2023 when it filed charges against Kraken and Coinbase for operating as unregistered securities exchanges.
Members of the US Congress and relevant crypto industry actors openly criticized Gensler's actions. U.S. lawmakers have introduced SEC stabilization legislation that calls for Gensler's ouster. Other proposals tried to reduce the wage to $1.
Gensler's so-called “rule on enforcement” has many detractors, even within the SEC itself. Hester Pearce, a lawyer and commissioner at the SEC, said she disagreed with the firm's CEO, saying Gensler's approach to identifying Bitcoin ETF applications was inconsistent.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on Sept. 11 at the Unlicensed II conference in Austin, Texas, Pearce said she doesn't expect the SEC to be “far from it” in finding a regulatory framework solution for cryptocurrencies.
Other countries have created clear guidelines and may be attracting potential crypto companies from the United States. Pierce believes that it is not too late and asks crypto organizations not to lose hope in the United States. The key to reconciliation between regulators and the crypto industry may be working together rather than against each other.
The SEC is a regulatory agency with an enforcement division, not an enforcement agency. Why are we leading with enforcement in crypto?
— Hester Peirce (@HesterPeirce) May 3, 2022
Many crypto advocates like to see her as Gensler's successor. For now, the crypto community applauds Gensler for her bold stance on the US crypto industry.
Sandy Kaul: Bringing institutional investors into crypto
Sandy Kaul is head of digital asset and industry advisory services at Franklin Templeton, an investment fund manager with approximately $1.4 trillion under management. Her association with crypto goes back to 2016 when she discovered the capabilities of Ethereum's smart contracts.
Kaul advocated for investment funds to allocate a certain percentage to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Franklin Templeton Introduces Bitcoin ETF in September 2023 Along with other applicants, it is in the running to become the first place Bitcoin ETF to be approved by the SEC.
Kaul is pushing for BTC to be considered a store of value. She is of the opinion that companies should allocate a certain percentage of their assets to Bitcoin. In an interview with Bitcoin guru Natalie Brunel, she called for every country to have Bitcoin in its treasury.
Franklin Templeton's approach to crypto may have influenced Kaul's understanding of the sector's potential.
Elizabeth Stark: The light behind the tunnel
Elizabeth Stark is the co-founder and CEO of Lightning Labs, the company behind the Lightning Network (LN) layer-2 elasticity solution for Bitcoin.
Stark is managing one of the most important projects to make BTC usable as a currency for everyday transactions and fulfilling Satoshi Nakamoto's vision of using Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer digital cash. For a store of value like Bitcoin to serve as a currency, the Bitcoin network requires a layer-2 scaling solution like the Lightning Network.
Over the past two years, Stark's team has helped the Lightning Network grow over 1,200%.
Developers have implemented an implementation layer dedicated to LN that allows any later channel status to replace any previous channels. This update simplifies channel management by allowing users to review old channel statuses without publishing the entire history on the blockchain. The update allows users to resolve disputes and reduce transaction costs more efficiently.
A solid LN scenario means a solid foundation for use cases.
Cynthia Lammis: Controlling the good and the bad of crypto
US Senator Cynthia Lammis has been publicly open about Bitcoin ownership. In the year In 2013, she announced that she had bought her first BTC, so she was called the “Queen of Crypto”.
In the wake of FTX's failure, Lummis and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Responsible Financial Innovation Act.
As a politician, Lummis highlighted the positive side of Bitcoin mining, a hot topic that can easily be returned. She mentioned how Bitcoin mining helps stabilize the power grid and said that “Bitcoin cleans up the environment” when power is misused.
Lummis also tried to deal with illegal use of cryptocurrencies. She led the charge against Binance and Tether by the US Department of Justice on suspicion of facilitating money for Hamas.
When it comes to illicit finance, crypto isn't the enemy – it's the bad actors.
I sent the letter asking the DOJ to complete the investigation and file criminal charges against Binance and Tether after it reported that they acted as proxies for Hamas and engaged in illegal activities. pic.twitter.com/M3KGNFkpWc
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) October 26, 2023
A politician blaming illegal actors is refreshing considering other senators like Elizabeth Warren regularly bash Bitcoin.
Crypto: Golden opportunity for women
Crypto is like the 19th century gold rush but in a different format. The fiction industry needs all kinds of talent, and there's room for everyone. Diversity in the workforce has been proven to make companies more efficient, because less “team” and a more open approach, increases creativity.
Two hundred years ago, the concept of women's equality was rare. But crypto has provided a level playing field for women and men and financial inclusion, with countless women contributing to the growth of crypto and Web3 every day.
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