{"id":6879,"date":"2025-01-02T20:18:53","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T19:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=6879"},"modified":"2025-01-02T20:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T19:18:53","slug":"spotlighting-the-unsung-heroines-of-bitcoin-women-leaders-in-the-crypto-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/02\/spotlighting-the-unsung-heroines-of-bitcoin-women-leaders-in-the-crypto-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlighting the Unsung Heroines of Bitcoin: Women Leaders in the Crypto Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Connect with Frank on X<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A week prior, CoinTelegraph<\/em> released a \u201cwomen who excelled in crypto\u201d<\/a> article that featured just one woman from outside the Americas or Europe (Maya Parbhoe<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Believing that the developments surrounding Bitcoin in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia\u2014regions where Bitcoin is primarily utilized as a currency and a last-resort financial tool\u2014are significantly more thrilling than the happenings in the U.S. and Europe, I\u2019m eager to share stories of remarkable women in the Bitcoin sector from these areas who made a mark in 2024.<\/p>\n

Farida Bemba Nabourema<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Nabourema has long been an advocate and defender of human rights, hailing from Togo. She is also the key organizer for the African Bitcoin Conference<\/a>, which, over the past three years, has offered Africans a fantastic platform to connect with Bitcoin enthusiasts worldwide.<\/p>\n

Reyna Chicas<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 A Salvadoran, Chicas was elevated to Director of Education for Mi Primer Bitcoin this year<\/a>, and she also serves on the board of the organization. Her journey in the Bitcoin realm began just two years ago when she attended the Adopting Bitcoin conference in El Salvador<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roya Mahboob<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Mahboob is among Afghanistan\u2019s pioneering female tech CEOs. She also established the Digital Citizen Fund<\/a>, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the technological proficiency of Afghan women. This year, she has continued her mission to set up IT centers for girls in high schools throughout Afghanistan and aims to expand her educational model to schools in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Nepal.<\/p>\n

Dea Rezkitha<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Rezkitha serves as the Community Master for Southeast Asia at Fedi<\/a> and is a co-founder of the Indonesian Bitcoin Community as well as the Indonesia Bitcoin Conference<\/a>. Alongside her responsibilities at Fedi this year, Rezkitha traveled globally, presenting her work at events such as the Oslo Freedom Forum<\/a> and Bitcoin 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lorraine Marcel<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Residing in Kenya, Marcel is the founder of Bitcoin Dada<\/a>, a digital Bitcoin education platform and community for African women. She was recently honored as the Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2024 by the African Bitcoiners group.<\/p>\n

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Kenyan Lorraine Marcel (@marcelorraine<\/a>) is our Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2024!<\/p>\n

Through @btc_dada<\/a> and @DadaDevs<\/a>, she empowers leaders such as @waithiraah<\/a>, @LindaKariu54810<\/a>, @noelynesumba<\/a>, and countless others, creating a ripple that is transforming Africa forever.
More\ud83d\udc47 pic.twitter.com\/W84gicWVs1<\/a><\/p>\n

— African Bitcoiners \u26a1 (@afribitcoiners) December 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isabella Santos<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Santos co-founded the Mexican Bitcoin community BTC Isla<\/a>, located in Isla Mujeres, and is also a co-founder of the Bitcoin media source Get Based<\/a> (recently unveiling an impactful documentary titled \u201cHow The Federal Reserve Secretly Enslaved The World\u201d<\/a>). Additionally, she continued her global tours this year as the host of Bitcoin Backstage<\/a>, delivering exclusive insights from behind the scenes at major Bitcoin conferences.<\/p>\n

Noelyne Sumba<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Operating out of Kenya, Sumba leads the \u201corange-pilling initiatives\u201d for Machankura<\/a>, a Bitcoin Lightning wallet compatible with feature phones. In 2024, Sumba also contributed to the Swahili and Abdi translations of Saifedean Ammous\u2019 classic The Bitcoin Standard<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Hadiya Masieh<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Masieh resides in London but has roots in Mauritius and Uganda. She is the founder of the Groundswell Project<\/a>, an organization focused on promoting peace and understanding among diverse groups. This year, she delivered a presentation at the \u201cOslo Freedom Forum\u201d titled \u201cHow Bitcoin Can Fund Counter-Terrorism\u201d<\/a>, where she discussed her work instructing Somali women on leveraging Bitcoin for political fundraising to support female candidates in the nation.<\/p>\n

Janet Maingi<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Located in Kenya, Maingi is a co-founder of Gridless Compute<\/a>, a business that successfully mined Bitcoin profitably in Africa over the past year while also contributing to electrification efforts in rural African territories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mary Imasuen<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 Of Nigerian and Filipino heritage based in Nigeria, Imasuen is the Global Marketing Manager for Fedi and identifies as a \u201cbitcoin-only gamer,\u201d frequently advocating for THNDR Games<\/a>. While she may not have traveled extensively in 2024 to promote her work, her insights were still featured as a podcast guest or on gaming live streams.<\/p>\n

Noteworthy mentions<\/strong>: Renata Rodrigues<\/a> (Head of Marketing and Community at Fedi, originally from Brazil), Lorena Ortiz<\/a> (Latin America Community Master at Fedi, situated in Mexico), and Edith Mpumwire<\/a> (Ugandan Community Manager for Bitcoin Dada and advocate forBitcoin Kampala<\/a>), Sabina Gitau<\/a> (co-founder of Tando<\/a>, located in Kenya), Efrat Fenigson<\/a> (host of the \u201cYou\u2019re The Voice\u201d<\/a> podcast, based in Israel)<\/p>\n

And I\u2019d like to take a moment to highlight some formidable women who excelled this year from Europe, the U.S., or other regions: Caitlin Long<\/a>, the US-based CEO of Custodia Bank initiated a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve<\/a> in 2024;\u00a0Susie Violet Ward<\/a>, the UK-based Bitcoin journalist and head of Bitcoin Policy UK extensively discussed the risks of excessive regulation on the Bitcoin sector in the UK and Europe this year;\u00a0Umi Miyahara<\/a>, the Japanese-American Business Development Lead at Breez<\/a>,\u00a0who facilitated numerous new collaborations for Breez in 2024;\u00a0DJ Valerie B Love<\/a>, the US-based creative who organized an exceptional virtual conference<\/a> this year;\u00a0NiftyNei<\/a>,\u00a0who introduced the Base58 education platform<\/a> this year;\u00a0Gloria Zhao<\/a>, a Bitcoin core developer who excels at explaining how Bitcoin functions<\/a>;\u00a0Ella Hough<\/a>, who assisted Cornell University in launching its first independent Bitcoin-focused study program<\/a>;\u00a0Ayelen Osorio<\/a>, who initiated the Human Right’s Foundation’s Financial Freedom Report newsletter<\/a>); and L0la L33tz<\/a> (the independent journalist produced remarkable coverage on privacy issues related to Bitcoin and crypto for her outlet The Rage<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I recognize there are countless women in the Bitcoin field who neither I nor CoinTelegraph<\/em> have recognized.<\/p>\n

To those women, I regret not being able to include you in this piece, but I appreciate your efforts and contributions to the Bitcoin community.<\/p>\n

This piece is a <\/em>Take<\/em><\/a>. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n