NEWSIt's Not Just a Boys' Club: How Women Are Shaping Crypto's Future
July 15 2025, Published 1:48 a.m. ET
Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have made a giant leap into the mainstream over the past decade. However, past stereotypes, including those gender-related, continue to persist. To put it bluntly, the crypto space is still regarded by many to be a “boys club,” a male-dominated space, with little participation and representation by women.
Still, taking a look at the data, reality doesn’t quite align with these stereotypes anymore. Yes, men continue to hold a majority of the world’s crypto. The vast majority of crypto jobs, especially managerial positions, are held by men. Even so, in recent years, women have made big advances in all of these areas.
In the case of companies like Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, there has been an even greater level of advancement in gender diversity. Binance CMO Rachel Conlan, discussed the perception of women in crypto during an interview with Emirates Women at this year’s Token2049 conference, "That there aren't women in Web3, that's the biggest misconception," Conlan declared. She pointed to Binance's own team as proof of change, mentioning that women account for 45% of their staff worldwide.
Moreover, companies such as Binance remain focused on further increasing both the percentage of women holding cryptocurrencies, as well as female participation, representation, and influence in the Web3 economy.
Women in Crypto: Big Advances So Far This Decade
Go back as recently as the late 2010s, and you perhaps could still argue that the crypto space was almost uniformly male. At that time, women represented less than 10% of the world’s cryptocurrency investors. In terms of employment at cryptocurrency startups, women made up a similarly-small percentage.
Flash forward to now, the mid-point of the 2020s, and one can quickly see how much of a larger role women now play in the cryptocurrency space. More recent studies show that between 30% and 40% of crypto investors are now women. A big reason for this is the growing use of crypto as an alternative to traditional banking in emerging markets such as Vietnam, India and Indonesia.
In terms of crypto industry employment, the gender gap has narrowed in a big way as well. Over a quarter of crypto jobs are now held by women, a big improvement from the late 2010s figures. That said, positions held by women skew towards non-technical support roles.
Women remain more underrepresented in areas such as management, as well as in technical roles such as those in core development. However, it’s not as if the industry is limiting opportunities for women to enter such roles. Far from it, as seen from commentary by women leaders in crypto regarding this issue.
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Fostering Greater Female Influence
By-and-large, the cryptocurrency industry is taking a proactive approach, when it comes to eliminating the gender gap still associated with the space. For instance, as Conlan also discussed in the aforementioned interview, two of her key goals as Global CMO of Binance have to do with female participation in crypto.
First, Conlan strives to increase the number of women not just working in crypto, but working in areas such as development. Second, Conlan is focused on increasing female participation in cryptocurrency investing and trading. As she puts it, “we do not want this to be another financial revolution where females get left behind.”
To achieve this financial inclusion goal, Binance has collaborated with organizations such as Women in Technology (WTech) to launch Web3 education and financial literacy initiatives. The company has also participated in community building. A recent example of this is with Binance’s recent hosting of free education and networking events around the world, in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2025.
Other companies in the space have engaged in similar outreach activities. A good example of this is with the Blockchain4Her Initiative, which debuted at the Web3 Hub Davos event held during the 2024 World Economic Forum.
Major Progress, but This is Just the Start
Comparing the level of female participation in crypto at the end of the last decade, to the middle of this decade, it’s clear that major progress has been made. Women are steadily establishing a greater presence, both in cryptocurrency investing as well as in the Web3 workforce.
However, this progress should represent the start. There’s plenty more work to be done, especially when it comes to female representation in crypto industry leadership. As it stands today, just 6% of top leadership roles are held by women.
Yet while this even greater gender gap may sound concerning, there is a silver lining. As companies like Binance continue to foster greater gender inclusion, this gap stands to steadily narrow over time.
