Per week in the past, CoinTelegraph printed a “girls who kicked ass in crypto” piece wherein just one non-American or non-European girl (Maya Parbhoe) was talked about.
As a result of I really feel that what’s occurring with Bitcoin in Africa, Latin America, The Center East and Southeast Asia — areas the place bitcoin is extra typically used as a foreign money and a cash of final resort — is much extra thrilling than what’s occurring in the US and Europe, I’m right here let you know about some girls within the Bitcoin house from these areas who kicked ass in 2024.
Farida Bemba Nabourema — Nabourema is a long-time activist and human rights defender, initially from Togo. She’s additionally the first organizer for the African Bitcoin Convention, which, for the final three years, has offered Africans with an unimaginable alternative to current to and community with Bitcoiners from across the globe.
Reyna Chicas — Chicas is a Salvadoran was promoted to Director of Schooling for Mi Primer Bitcoin this 12 months, and she or he additionally sits on the group’s board of administrators. Her journey in Bitcoin began simply two years in the past when she went to the Adopting Bitcoin convention in El Salvador as an attendee.
Roya Mahboob — Mahboob is one in all Afghanistan’s first feminine tech CEOs. She additionally based the Digital Citizen Fund, a non-profit aimed toward enhancing technological literacy of Afghan girls. This 12 months, she’s continued in her efforts to create IT facilities for ladies in excessive colleges throughout Afghanistan and in addition deliver her schooling mannequin to varsities in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Dea Rezkitha — Rezkitha is the Neighborhood Grasp for Southeast Asia for Fedi and co-founder of the Indonesian Bitcoin Neighborhood and the Indonesia Bitcoin Convention. Except for maintaining together with her duties for Fedi this 12 months, Rezkitha toured the world talking about her work at occasions just like the Oslo Freedom Discussion board and Bitcoin 2024.
Lorraine Marcel — Marcel, based mostly in Kenya, is the founding father of Bitcoin Dada, a digital Bitcoin schooling platform and sisterhood for African girls. She was additionally awarded the Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2024 award by the African Bitcoiners group.
Kenyan Lorraine Marcel (@marcelorraine) is our Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2024!Via @btc_dada and @DadaDevs she empowers leaders like @waithiraah, @LindaKariu54810, @noelynesumba and plenty of others, making a ripple impact which is altering Africa ceaselessly.Extra👇 pic.twitter.com/W84gicWVs1
— African Bitcoiners ⚡ (@afribitcoiners) December 11, 2024
Isabella Santos — Santos is a co-founder of the Mexican Bitcoin group BTC Isla, based mostly in Isla Mujeres in addition to a co-founder of the Bitcoin media outlet Get Based mostly (which lately launched a killer documentary entitled “How The Federal Reserve Secretly Enslaved The World”). Past that, she continued to tour the globe this 12 months because the host of Bitcoin Backstage, bringing you some juicy takes from backstage on the world’s greatest Bitcoin conferences.
Noelyne Sumba — Sumba, based mostly in Kenya, oversees “orange-pilling operations” for Machankura, a Bitcoin Lightning pockets that can be utilized on characteristic telephones. Additionally, in 2024, Saifedean Ammous’ basic The Bitcoin Normal was printed in Swahili and Abdi due to Sumba’s assist in translating the textual content.
Hadiya Masieh — Masieh is predicated in London however was born to Mauritian and Ugandan mother and father. She’s the founding father of the Groundswell Venture, a corporation that works to foster peace and empathy amongst various communities. She gave a chat on the “Oslo Freedom Discussion board” this 12 months entitled “How Bitcoin Can Fund Counter-Terrorism”, wherein she highlighted how she’s taught Somali girls the best way to use bitcoin for political fundraising to assist assist feminine candidates within the nation.
Janet Maingi — Maingi, based mostly in Kenya, is a co-founder of Gridless Compute, an organization that not solely mined bitcoin in Africa profitably this previous 12 months but in addition helped deliver electrification to rural areas of Africa.
Mary Imasuen — Imasuen, who’s of Nigerian and Filipino descent and based mostly in Nigeria, is the International Advertising and marketing Supervisor for Fedi and a self-described “bitcoin-only gamer” who typically speaks in assist of THNDR Video games. Whereas Imasuen wasn’t touring the world discussing her work in 2024, you may hear from her as a podcast visitor or on a gaming stream
Honorable mentions: Renata Rodrigues (Head of Advertising and marketing and Neighborhood at Fedi, initially from Brazil), Lorena Ortiz (Latin America Neighborhood Grasp at Fedi, based mostly in Mexico), Edith Mpumwire (Ugandan Neighborhood Supervisor for Bitcoin Dada and supporter of Bitcoin Kampala), Sabina Gitau (co-founder of Tando, based mostly in Kenya), Efrat Fenigson (host of the “You’re The Voice” podcast, based mostly in Israel)
And I’m going to offer a fast shout out to some unhealthy ass girls who crushed it this 12 months from Europe, the U.S. or elsewhere: Caitlin Lengthy, the US-based CEO of Custodia Financial institution began a lawsuit in opposition to the Federal Reserve; Susie Violet Ward, the UK-based Bitcoin journalist and CEO of Bitcoin Coverage UK wrote extensively concerning the risks of over-regulating the Bitcoin trade within the UK and Europe this 12 months; Lyudmyla Kozlovska, who labored to assist protect privateness in Bitcoin transactions via her group, the Open Dialogue Basis; Anna Chekovich, the Russian Bitcoin advocate from Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Basis, who additionally joined the Human Rights Basis’s Monetary Freedom workforce; Umi Miyahara, the Japanese-American Enterprise Growth Lead at Breez, who helped facilitate many new partnerships for Breez; DJ Valerie B Love, the US-based artistic who launched an distinctive digital convention; NiftyNei, who launched the Base58 schooling platform; Gloria Zhao, a Bitcoin core dev who does a superb job in distilling how Bitcoin works; Ella Hough, who helped Cornell College launch its first impartial Bitcoin-focused research program; Ayelen Osorio, who launched the Human Rights Basis’s Monetary Freedom Report e-newsletter); and L0la L33tz, the impartial journalist did an unimaginable work in protecting privateness because it pertains to Bitcoin and crypto for her publication The Rage.
I do know there are an innumerable variety of girls within the Bitcoin house who neither I nor CoinTelegraph acknowledged.
To these girls, I apologize for not with the ability to fit your needs into this piece, however I thanks in your work and contributions to the Bitcoin house.
This text is a Take. Opinions expressed are fully the writer’s and don’t essentially replicate these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.