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The Top 5 Most Influential Women In Crypto
Just like most tech spaces, the crypto space has far fewer women than men. Women make up a small percentage across all metrics, including crypto ownership, jobs, leadership positions, and participation in online and offline spaces.
But despite that, it’s inspiring that thousands of trailblazing women are participating in the industry in amazing ways. Whether leading blockchain projects, educating others, or founding startups, they are making their mark and inspiring a generation of women.
While scores of women are killing it, we curated this list to highlight the top five most influential women as seen in their leadership, impact on the community, and ability to inspire a lot of people.
Here are the top five most influential women in crypto.
Laura Shin speaking at a TED talk in 2019
#1. Caitlin Long
Caitlin Long is an American entrepreneur and one of crypto’s most visible advocates. A Wall Street veteran, as she likes to call herself, Long spent 22 years in traditional finance, including holding the position of Head of Pensions at Morgan Stanley.
Long was piqued by crypto in 2012 while working at the multinational bank, but would dive full force in 2017 after she was unable to donate crypto to her alma mater, the University of Wyoming, due to the state’s money transfer law, which she found absurd.
Since then, the Harvard Law grad has become a leading advocate for crypto adoption in Wyoming — her home state. She helped pass several crypto-friendly laws in the state, some of which have been used as a blueprint by other states.
Thanks to those and other impressive contributions to the cryptocurrency world, Long has been recognized with several awards, including the Women in Finance Award for Excellence in blockchain by MarketsMedia.
In addition to her advocacy work, Long is the Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank — digital assets custodian bank and the first of its kind in the US.
#2. Meltem Demirors
Meltem Demirors is an outspoken crypto bull, evangelist, and self-declared “Shitcoin Minimalist.” After working in oil and gas, the 35-year-old caught the crypto bug and joined the Digital Currency Group as one of their early employees. Later, she became Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShare, a digital asset firm managing $4 billion in assets.
Demirors doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to advancing crypto; she walks the walk. The MIT graduate has helped fund over 150 crypto and blockchain startups at pre-seed and Series A funding rounds as an angel investor.
Until recently, she co-hosted “What Grinds My Gears,” a podcast that tackled all that’s “bizarre” and “buzzworthy” in the world of crypto.
#3. Laura Shin
Laura Shin is a crypto journalist and host of the highly-rated crypto podcast Unchained (previously known as Unconfirmed).
Shin ditched a cushy job as a senior editor at Forbes to immerse herself fully in crypto journalism, becoming the first mainstream media journalist to take such a plunge.
On Unchained, Shin has sat down with some of the most interesting names in the space, with the podcast amassing over 15 million downloads to date.
Also a crypto evangelist, Shin has stumped for crypto at several high-profile places, including TEDx Francisco, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Oslo Freedom Forum. Her best-selling book, “The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze,” explores the messy, complicated and idealistic beginnings of Ethereum.
Shin earned recognition as the “Most Insightful Journalist” for her cut-through-the-noise crypto journalism at the 2016 Blockchain Awards. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors from Stanford University, later completing her Master’s at Columbia School of Journalism.
#4. Elizabeth Stark
While not much of a media fixture, Elizabeth Stark’s work behind the scenes has been some of the most pivotal for crypto. Stark co-founded Lightning Labs, the company responsible for developing the Lightning Network (LN/Lightning), and currently serves as its CEO.
Lightning is a layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin. It’s the breakout star of a bunch of layer 2 protocols whose goal is to solve Bitcoin’s most stubborn problem: scalability.
Since its inception in 2016, Lightning Labs has secured $82.5 million in funding across four rounds, including support from investors who were also early supporters of Tesla and SpaceX.
Lightning’s selling point is so compelling that even tech luminaries Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey have taken notice. Dorsey has even committed funds from Block — his blockchain company, to help with liquidity on the protocol.
These successes have happened under the leadership of Stark. Even though she’s not a coder, Stark is credited with taking Lightning from an on-paper concept to a living, breathing project.
In addition to her work at Lightning Labs, Stark is a fellow at the non-profit crypto advocacy group Coin Center.
#5. Lyn Alden
Lyn Alden is an investment researcher and founder of the highly successful Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, which comprises a blog and newsletter.
The six times a week newsletter has over 20,000 subscribers and deals with investment opportunities across several macro assets, including crypto.
Alden’s work has struck a chord such that she has garnered over a 600,000-strong Twitter base. She’s also frequently invited on financial shows to share her thoughts on trends in the space.
She’s had her insights featured or cited in various financial media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, CNBC, Fox Business, MarketWatch, Kiplinger, Time’s Money Magazine, US News and World Report, Fidelity Investments, Capitalist Show, and more.
In addition to Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, Alden is also an advisor to Ego Death Capital. She previously served as an independent board director of Swan Bitcoin.
Alden has a degree in electronics engineering. She also holds a Master’s in engineering management, emphasizing engineering economics and financial modeling.
Final Thoughts
These women prove that with determination and a skillset, there’s a place for women in crypto. As the space evolves, it will be exciting to watch how women continue to define their role in it. Here’s to hoping for a more inclusive future.
