Women in Crypto
What role are women playing in crypto in 2026?
Every industry attracts people from all walks of life and from every demographic, and there has been a tangible effort by many companies and sectors to aim for more equal representation in terms of gender, race and sexuality. This push for equality in company make-up often means encouraging under-represented groups to become more involved and take up leadership positions to show influence in decision-making and attract a wider variety of applicants.
However, there are many industries where the balance between demographics is tipped one way or the other. While this does not necessarily mean that any discrimination is taking place, it can make an industry seem more difficult for people outside of the dominant demographic to really make it.
With this in mind, we wanted to explore the disparity in gender representation within the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector when it came to positions of leadership and influence. Is there an imbalance between the genders in the crypto industry? And is this affecting engagement from underrepresented groups, leading to lower interest in owning cryptocurrency?
Influential Blockchain CEOs: a gender comparison
We’ve looked at 50 CEOs of leading crypto and blockchain companies, and ranked them based on their online reach and influence. We will compare the number of male and female CEOs in this study, highlighting the 3 most influential CEOs of each gender.
The blockchain CEO gender divide
Crypto CEOs | Count | Percentage |
Male | 47 | 94% |
Female | 3 | 6% |
Our analysis revealed a huge disparity between the number of male and female CEOs in the crypto and blockchain space, with 94% of CEOs in our study being male. This clearly suggests that the industry is currently dominated by men, the extent to which could be hurting the crypto movement in several ways.
This large gender imbalance indicates that either women aren’t as interested in a career in the crypto sector, or that the sector seems impenetrable to many female workers. Having such a heavily weighted workforce in either direction could be detrimental as it represents a lack of neurodiversity, where different perspectives and ways of thinking can be utilised to push a business forward.
Additionally, marketing and business decisions made by companies with heavily imbalanced demographics could not appeal to consumers who belong to the underrepresented group.
The most influential blockchain CEOs
We’ve ranked all 50 crypto and blockchain CEOs in our study by their online reach and influence. This was formulated by looking at the number of Twitter and Linkedin followers each CEO has, as well as the number of followers their company has on each platform.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) CEO Influence Score: 9.90
Changpeng Zhao co-founded Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, and served as its CEO from 2017 until November 2023. Often simply referred to as CZ, he received the highest CEO Influence Score of 9.90 in our study. The Chinese-born Canadian businessman studied at McGill University in Montreal.
CZ stepped down as Binance CEO in November 2023 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges in a settlement with the US Department of Justice, and was sentenced to four months in prison. Richard Teng, formerly Binance’s global head of regional markets, became the new CEO. With 8.1 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), CZ remains one of the most influential figures in crypto. Binance itself had 10.2 million followers on X and over 673,000 on LinkedIn at the time of our study.
Brad Garlinghouse CEO Influence Score: 9.69
Brad Garlinghouse is the second most influential CEO in our study, earning a CEO Influence Score of 9.69. Garlinghouse is the CEO of Ripple Labs, responsible for the Ripple Payment Protocol and its native cryptocurrency XRP. A graduate of the University of Kansas and Harvard Business School, Garlinghouse has led Ripple through major legal battles with the SEC, which concluded in 2024 with a partial settlement favouring Ripple on key issues of whether XRP constitutes a security for retail investors.
Brad Garlinghouse has the highest number of LinkedIn followers of a crypto CEO with over 80,000, as well as a 700,000-strong following on X.
Brian Armstrong CEO Influence Score: 9.55
Brian Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, and received the third highest CEO Influence Score of 9.55. Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam in 2012, and according to Forbes is worth approximately $2.6 billion. Coinbase became a significant beneficiary of the spot Bitcoin ETF approvals in January 2024, with institutional clients routing custody through the platform.
The most influential female blockchain CEOs
Ola Doudin CEO Influence Score: 5.97
CEO Influence Rank: 15
Ola Doudin is the CEO of BitOasis, a crypto exchange based in Dubai, UAE, which specifically caters to countries in the MENA region. Customers in 14 countries can use the platform to trade over 60 digital assets using the UAE Dirham or the Saudi Riyal. Doudin graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2008 with a 1st class degree in electronic and communication engineering and co-founded BitOasis in 2015.
Doudin has over 6,500 Twitter followers and almost 5,000 followers on Linkedin, while her BitOasis boasts 37,400 Twitter followers and a Linkedin following of over 45,000. Ola Doudin ranked 15th in our study with a CEO Influence Score of 5.97.
Ambre Soubiran CEO Influence Score: 3.78
CEO Influence Rank: 34
Ambre Soubiran is the CEO of Kaiko, a provider of digital assets market data based in Paris. Kaiko gives market participants access to real-time and historical data feeds across the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, allowing for in-depth performance reporting and analysis. Soubiran graduated from Université Paris Dauphine with a Master’s degree in applied mathematics in 2010 and spent 8 years working for HSBC from 2008 before co-founding Kaiko in 2016.
Soubiran maintains a modest online presence with 3,600 followers on Twitter almost 3,900 on Linkedin, while Kaiko has 11,700 followers on Twitter and almost 6,500 on Linkedin. Ambre Soubiran ranks 34th in this study with a CEO Influence Score of 3.78.
Simone Maini CEO Influence Score: 3.42
CEO Influence Rank: 40
Simone Maini is the CEO of Elliptic, a London-based provider of blockchain analytics, training, and certification for crypto businesses, financial institutions, and regulators. Maini graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2004 with a BA in history before securing a place on the Deutsche Bank graduate scheme. She stayed at Deutsche Bank until 2012 before spending almost 5 years in leadership positions at risk consultancy Kroll. Maini joined Elliptic in August 2016 as COO, being made company CEO in April 2020.
While we could not identify an active Twitter account belonging to Maini, she does have over 4,400 followers on Linkedin, while Elliptic has 11,800 Twitter Followers and over 30,600 on Linkedin. Simone Maini ranks 40th in this study with a CEO Influence Score of 3.42.
Women in blockchain leadership positions
While the CEO of a company is incredibly important to its image, direction and success, there are many other key leadership roles that should not be overlooked. With this in mind, we wanted to find out whether the gender divide is as severe when considering a broader selection of leadership positions. To achieve this, we recorded the number of individuals named in leadership positions on each company’s website where available and split the results by their gender.
The gender split of blockchain leadership positions
Combined Leadership Staff | Count | Percentage |
Male | 201 | 77.61% |
Female | 58 | 22.39% |
Only half of the companies in our study revealed their leadership teams on their websites. From these sites, we recorded a total of 259 leadership staff, 201 of which were male, with 58 female, meaning 77.61% of leadership positions are occupied by men while only 22.39% were occupied by women.
This again clearly suggests that the blockchain and crypto sector is largely male-dominated, with fewer than a quarter of leadership positions being held by women. However, this split is not nearly as severe as our comparison of 50 CEOs, which could mean that more women are beginning to filter upwards through these companies into more senior roles.
Blockchain companies with the best female representation in leadership positions
Rank | Company Name | Leadership Team Size | Male Leadership Staff | Female Leadership Staff | Female Leadership Share |
1 | Chainalysis | 13 | 7 | 6 | 46.15% |
2 | BitOasis | 7 | 4 | 3 | 42.86% |
3 | Coinbase | 6 | 4 | 2 | 33.33% |
3 | Elliptic | 12 | 8 | 4 | 33.33% |
3 | Circle | 12 | 8 | 4 | 33.33% |
3 | Anchorage Digital | 3 | 2 | 1 | 33.33% |
7 | Ripple Labs | 10 | 7 | 3 | 30.00% |
8 | SIMBA Chain | 11 | 8 | 3 | 27.27% |
9 | Robinhood | 8 | 6 | 2 | 25.00% |
10 | Thought Machine | 17 | 13 | 4 | 23.53% |
Chainalysis
Female Leadership Share: 46.15%
American blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has the highest proportion of women in leadership positions at 46.15%, representing 6 out of 13 leadership staff. Chainalysis provides data, software, services, and research to government agencies, financial institutions, and private companies in over 70 countries. The female leadership staff include CPO Pratima Arora and COO Sari Granat, as well as the company’s General Counsel and 3 departmental VPs.
BitOasis
Female Leadership Share: 42.86%
BitOasis has the second most equal split between men and women in leadership positions, with 42.86% held by women. This represents 4 positions being held by men and 3 being held by women, including the position of CEO which is currently occupied by Ola Doudin. BitOasis’ mission is to be the leading cryptocurrency platform in the MENA region, providing an easy-to-use, secure and compliant way to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase, Elliptic, Circle, Anchorage Digital
Female Leadership Share: 33.33%
Four companies tied for third place, each with 33.33% of their leadership positions being held by women. These companies were crypto exchange Coinbase, analytics provider Elliptic, payments technology company Circle, and digital asset platform Anchorage Digital.
Crypto influencers: a gender comparison
While the executives and leadership staff of crypto and blockchain companies give us a good idea of the gender balance within the industry, the media surrounding the sector is just as important for providing a wide range of perspectives and viewpoints. In this section we will look at the 50 most popular crypto influencers, breaking them down by gender and revealing how well-balanced this aspect of the industry is.
Note: Follower counts and influence scores are based on data collected at time of publication. Since then, Twitter has been rebranded as X following Elon Musk’s acquisition in October 2022.
The top crypto influencers
Elon Musk X Followers: 200+ million
Average Potential Earnings per Post: $1.49 million+
Elon Musk is the biggest crypto influencer out there with over 200 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). Musk, who became CEO and owner of Twitter in October 2022 – rebranding it to X in July 2023 – while also serving as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is one of the most influential business figures in the world. Musk has shown a strong interest in the crypto industry, particularly Dogecoin, which he has frequently discussed. His outsized market influence means a single post can move crypto prices significantly.
Changpeng Zhao X Followers: 8.1 million
Average Potential Earnings per Post: $81,927
Changpeng Zhao, or “CZ”, is the co-founder of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. CZ had the second-largest following on X among crypto influencers in our study. Though he resigned as Binance CEO in November 2023, CZ continues to be one of the most followed individuals in crypto.
Jack Dorsey X Followers: 6.5 million
Average Potential Earnings per Post: $65,652
Jack Dorsey is the third most prominent crypto influencer on X with 6.5 million followers. Dorsey is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter (now X), as well as the co-founder and CEO of Block, Inc., a fintech company formerly known as Square. Dorsey has shown significant interest in crypto, often posting about Bitcoin. His company Block has invested heavily in Bitcoin, securing a total of 8,027 individual tokens as part of its treasury strategy.
The top female crypto influencers
Of the top 50 crypto influencers on X (formerly Twitter), only 7 were female compared to 43 who were male. This means that just 14% of the top crypto influencers are women, highlighting a clear disparity in the number of successful crypto content creators between the two sexes.
Layah Heilpern Twitter Followers: 564,100
Overall Rank: 29 Average Potential Earnings per Post: $5,651
Layah Heilpern is the biggest female crypto influencer on Twitter, with 564,100 followers and a single sponsored post from her account worth an average of $5,651. Layah is a popular podcast host and the author of a crypto-focused book “Undressing Bitcoin: A Revealing Guide To The World’s Most Revolutionary Asset”, and ranked 29th overall in our top 50 crypto influencers.
Wendy O Twitter Followers: 326,200
Overall Rank: 38 Average Potential Earnings per Post: $3,265
Wendy O is the second most prominent female crypto influencer on Twitter, with 326,200 followers on the platform, meaning a single sponsored tweet from Wendy’s account could be worth around $3,265. Also running a successful YouTube account, Wendy O regularly posts new tweets and content discussing all things Web3.
Natalie Brunell Twitter Followers: 289,500
Overall Rank: 43 Average Potential Earnings per Post: $2,899
Natalie Brunell is the third most successful female crypto influencer on Twitter having amassed 289,500 followers on the social media platform. Natalie is an Emmy-awarded journalist best known for hosting the Coin Stories podcast and presenting SwanBitcoin’s Hard Money show, where she discusses all things Bitcoin-related.
The most engaging crypto influencers
Rank | Name | Male / Female | Twitter Handle | Twitter Followers | Engagement Rate |
1 | Brad Garlinghouse | Male | @bgarlinghouse | 700,300 | 0.91% |
2 | Layah Heilpern | Female | @LayahHeilpern | 564,100 | 0.82% |
3 | Jack Mallers | Male | @jackmallers | 344,300 | 0.69% |
4 | Ivan on Tech | Male | @IvanOnTech | 402,700 | 0.54% |
5 | Nayib Bukele | Male | @nayibbukele | 4,700,000 | 0.51% |
5 | Meltem Demirors | Female | @Melt_Dem | 254,100 | 0.51% |
7 | Aleksandra Huk | Female | @HukAleksandra | 219,900 | 0.35% |
8 | Joseph Lubin | Male | @ethereumJoseph | 300,100 | 0.31% |
9 | Michael Saylor | Male | @saylor | 2,900,000 | 0.27% |
10 | Dylan LeClair | Male | @DylanLeClair_ | 294,500 | 0.24% |
Brad Garlinghouse Engagement Rate: 0.91%
Brad Garlinghouse is the most engaging crypto influencer on Twitter with an engagement rate of 0.91%. Brad is the current CEO of Ripple Labs, one of the most prominent companies in crypto, making him an authority on crypto that many people are keen to hear from.
Layah Heilpern Engagement Rate: 0.82%
Layah Heilpern is the crypto influencer with the second highest engagement rate on Twitter at 0.82%. Layah addresses a wide range of issues in her tweets, from news around Bitcoin to the wider Web3 ecosystem, as well as miscellaneous topics, particularly around US politics.
Jack Mallers Engagement Rate: 0.69%
Jack Mallers is the third most engaging crypto influencer on Twitter with an engagement rate of 0.69%. Jack is a crypto investor and businessman from Chicago and regularly tweets about Bitcoin, crypto and his business activities.
Female crypto ownership around the world
While we’ve seen that there’s still a lot of room for improvement in terms of female inclusion in crypto companies, the number of female influencers out there discussing the topic shows there are plenty of women interested in crypto.
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However, the best way to measure female engagement with cryptocurrency is to look at crypto ownership levels among men and women. This will allow us to see which parts of the world are fostering the strongest female engagement in crypto.
The countries with the most equal adoption of crypto
Rank | Country | Male Share of Crypto Owners | Female Share of Crypto Owners | Percentage Point Difference |
1 | Vietnam | 53% | 47% | 6 |
2 | Indonesia | 57% | 43% | 14 |
3 | Kenya | 58% | 42% | 16 |
3 | Colombia | 58% | 42% | 16 |
5 | Venezuela | 59% | 41% | 18 |
5 | Mexico | 59% | 41% | 18 |
5 | Australia | 59% | 41% | 18 |
8 | India | 60% | 40% | 20 |
8 | Brazil | 60% | 40% | 20 |
10 | Hong Kong | 61% | 39% | 22 |
10 | Ireland | 61% | 39% | 22 |
Vietnam Female Share of Crypto Owners: 47%
Vietnam is the country with the most even numbers of male and female crypto owners, with 47% being female compared to 53% being male. This is a difference of just 6 percentage points, showing that female access to digital currencies is being supported by the local culture. In fact, in the World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, Vietnam scored the most highly when it came to economic participation and opportunity, which is mirrored by the high participation of women in the crypto economy.
Indonesia Female Share of Crypto Owners: 43%
Indonesia has the second highest female share of crypto owners at 43%, with 57% being male. This 14-point gap indicates that while women in the country aren’t quite as engaged with cryptocurrencies as they are in nearby Vietnam, they are still heavily involved. With an engagement rate above 40%, female crypto owners are a significant part of the Indonesian crypto community.
Kenya & Colombia Female Share of Crypto Owners: 42%
In third place are Kenya and Colombia, with women making up 42% of total crypto owners in both countries. Both Kenya and Columbia, like Vietnam and Indonesia, are developing economies where work is often more scarce and lower paid than in developed nations, and traditional gender roles are more prominent with men usually being the family breadwinners. The high proportion of female crypto owners in these countries suggests that women are using crypto as a means of earning additional income where the local economy or culture provides few opportunities for women to succeed.
The countries where the highest proportion of women own crypto
Female Rank | Country | Female Crypto Owners | Percent of Women Owning Crypto |
1 | Vietnam | 12,165,440 | 24.40% |
2 | Philippines | 5,492,760 | 9.64% |
3 | India | 63,020,700 | 9.18% |
4 | Venezuela | 1,189,000 | 8.42% |
5 | South Africa | 2,353,920 | 7.60% |
6 | Singapore | 218,620 | 7.51% |
7 | United States | 11,517,770 | 6.88% |
8 | Brazil | 7,124,030 | 6.63% |
9 | Nigeria | 4,593,250 | 4.25% |
10 | Argentina | 977,870 | 4.22% |
Vietnam Percent of Women Owning Crypto: 24.40%
Vietnam is the country where the highest proportion of women owns cryptocurrency at 24.40%. Already listed as the country where male and female crypto ownership is most equal, the incredibly high number of crypto adoption in the country means almost a quarter of women own some form of cryptocurrency.
Philippines Percent of Women Owning Crypto: 9.64%
The Philippines is the country with the second highest proportion of women owning crypto at 9.64%, reflecting almost 5.5 million female crypto owners. Alongside the high percentage in Vietnam and the high proportion of female crypto owners in Indonesia, it is clear that Southeast Asia is a hotbed for female engagement in cryptocurrency.
India Percent of Women Owning Crypto: 9.18%
India has the third highest percentage of its female population owning cryptocurrency at 9.18%. This represents more than 60 million women who have engaged with cryptocurrency, although India is a huge country with a total population of approximately 1.4 billion. Nevertheless, 9.18% is a considerable proportion of women to have adopted crypto, and further supports the notion that crypto offers women in developing countries the opportunity to make their own money and take control of their futures.
Methodology
We wanted to assess female engagement with the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, looking at male and female representation and adoption within the sphere of digital currencies.
To begin, we put together a list of 50 of the top crypto and blockchain companies from VentureRadar and listed the CEO of each. We then collected the number of X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn followers of each CEO, as well as the followers of their companies, and combined this data into a CEO Influence Score out of 10. This also allowed us to see the split between male and female CEOs in the crypto industry.
Additionally, we collected the number of men and women listed on the websites of each company as members of the leadership team. We only included 25 of these companies as half of them did not list their company leadership on their websites. This allowed us to reveal the companies with the most female representation in leadership positions, as well as show the percentage of male and female leadership staff across these companies.
Next, we used sources such as Influencer Marketing Hub, AJ Marketing and Investopedia to collect a list of some of the most prominent crypto influencers on X. We then collected follower numbers and used Influencer Marketing Hub’s calculator to record each influencer’s engagement rate and the average value of a sponsored post from their accounts.
We then used data from Finder and TripleA to analyse female crypto adoption rates in select countries for which data from both sources were fully available. This allowed us to highlight the countries where the share of crypto owners between men and women is most equal, as well as where the number of female crypto owners is the largest relative to the overall population.
