Why This Cryptocurrency Leader Believes Blockchain Is a New Paradigm for Inclusion

Forbes sat down with Nyla Rodgers; the founder of Mama Hope, an NGO that advocates for global communities and aims to empower the disempowered by fixing our broken system; as well as the force behind the “Satoshi is Female” movement, which she uses to point out that the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin might very well be a woman, given the many qualities used to promote cryptocurrency and the blockchain that are considered “feminine” such as collaboration, inclusion, and a values-driven approach to currencies. Rodgers talked about why women need to be included in designing the new system—both to be more inclusive and equitable, and because women are in a unique position to identify what isn’t working in the current system. Click through to read the complete interview.

By Emily Joffrion, Women@Forbes

With over $830 billion in assets at its peak in January and an estimated 24,000 wallets each holding over $1 million worth of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies are generating unimaginable wealth for the early players. Stories of overnight millionaires have ushered the blockchain revolution into the mainstream, bringing with it the potential to replace traditional financial markets and disrupt as many industries as the internet. This momentum includes a new crop of companies, projects and investments rushing to capitalize on this new market. But as we unlock this new potential in the time of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and growing disillusionment with cultural power dynamics, one woman sees the blockchain as an opportunity to design a more equitable and inclusive system from the ground up.

Nyla Rodgers, the founder of Mama Hope, is a crypto-philosopher whose campaign, Satoshi is Female, challenges us to use the power of the blockchain to benefit humanity as a whole. The provocative slogan asks us to examine the nature of the blockchain itself when looking for the answer of who should lead the conversation. I sat down with Rodgers to hear more about the blockchain, cryptocurrencies and how to use this decentralized, global system to create a new paradigm of radical inclusion.

Emily Joffrion: Tell me about Satoshi is Female?

Nyla Rodgers: I believe that the blockchain is an inherently feminine way to move value across the world. And that’s because it’s collaborative, inclusive, values-driven and community-centered. It seems counterintuitive to assume that Satoshi, this unknown person (or persons) who wrote the Bitcoin white paper, is a man when the blockchain itself has so many characteristics that are feminine. And I feel like these feminine qualities represent a new way of operating in the world.

Image credit: Alex Colby

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The Negative Impact of Having ‘All Women Panels’ at Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conferences

Hosting all-women panels to discuss cryptocurrency and blockchains seems like a great idea—but they may have downsides as well, especially if the panels are the main or only venue for women. In some cases, the panels can end up reinforcing stereotypes and the gender divide, according to several in the industry.

Forbes crypto writer Rachel Wolfson speaks to women in cryptocurrency and blockchain; including Arianna Simpson, managing director of Autonomous Partners (previously interviewed by WIIWD here); who tends to avoid all-women panels now, warning against separating women into exclusive panels to demonstrate diversity—particularly if they don't get to speak extensively on the topics about which they are experts.

These new industries, many people are arguing, should be equitable from the start—not another way to divide people by gender. Focusing only on the role of women, while a vital discussion, can risk relegating women to only discussing gender issues.

There's room for women-only panels as well as integrated groups, but this is definitely an important point to consider. Read on and click through for more, and join us as we continue to support creating spaces for women—but also opportunities and platforms that highlight women and men equally.

By Rachel Wolfson

“Recently, I was at a summit where there was a ‘Pink Room’ - a place designed specifically for women. This was a rather offensive, yet telling sign of the industry. We should be using emerging industries like blockchain to end the stigmas of gender in technology, not to bolster it,” Anastasia Shvetsova, Managing Partner at M&A PR agency, told me.

Shvetsova, who has been specializing in public relations for the tech industry for seven years, has seen her fair share of gender exclusive “themes” at technology conferences. From all-women discussion panels, to pink conference rooms designed specifically for women, gender exclusivity for women at tech conferences has become a common trend.

Yet while some women in the tech space highly encourage “all women in tech” panels, others are starting to express differing opinions, especially those females innovating in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

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Satoshi Nakamoto Is Female: Women in the Cryptocurrency Industry

Satoshi Nakamoto's name is almost as well known as the cryptocurrency he created. But while Bitcoin, the first of many cryptocurrencies, has taken on a life of its own, Nakamoto remains much more of an enigma—and he might not even be a man at all. Claims that Nakamoto is a woman have circulated for a long time now, partly due to speculation and partly because it's such a disruptive, empowering idea: that a leading—the leading, at the beginning—voice and power in cryptocurrency was and has been a woman.

Bitcoinist examines the idea that Nakamoto is a woman, as well as the validation that such representation can bring to women in the crypto space and the satisfaction of upending assumptions that men are behind all financial and technological advancements. Click through for more, and keep lifting up women's voices in cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Is ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, the mysterious, anonymous creator of Bitcoin the original cryptocurrency, actually a woman?

In 2008 Nakamoto authored the white paper describing the most famous crypto, from which all other cryptos have spawned. In a community and industry dominated by men, the statement “Satoshi is a female” – a theory promoted by New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney at the Women on the Block event in Brooklyn on May 13 – is extremely provocative. To many, it is akin to suggesting that Jesus was a girl.

Ms. Maloney may have had her tongue in her cheek, but her comment highlights a serious point: are the contributions of women in the cryptocurrency world being diluted?

In a male-heavy tech industry, this is an all-too-familiar theme. Most of us believe that men invented computers and the internet, and almost everything else, in fact.

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Forbes Emergent 25: The Women Making Their Mark in Asia’s Enterprises

Whether in finance, science, health and beauty, engineering or other businesses; women are advancing, innovating, thriving, and leading the way—forging new paths for their companies, breaking glass ceilings, and lifting everyone up with them. We were inspired by this list of Asian women founders, CEOs, presidents, directors, and more from the May issue of Forbes Asia. Click through and read more about these trailblazing women leaders in business.

By Mary E. Scott

This story appears in the May 2018 issue of Forbes Asia.

What do Joanne Kua, a 33-year-old scion of a wealthy Malaysian family who is transforming her father’s staid insurance and finance business, and Indonesian grandmother Nurhayati Subakat, 67, who has pioneered halal beauty products have in common with Miki Ito, a Japanese scientist who plans to scrub the cosmos clean of space junk, and Vietnam’s Dang Minh Phuong, who founded and runs a logistics company? They are on Forbes Asia's first Emergent 25 list of women making a recent mark in regional enterprises.

These listees reflect the broader impact women are having in the Asian business world, even as the number of women in senior business positions globally retreated over the past year, according to consultancy Grant Thornton. Its 2018 “Women in Business” report says APAC firms gained greater gender diversity but notes that results across the region were patchy: a strong uptick in India, with the number of women in senior roles rising to 20 percent from 17 percent previously, but disappointment in Japan as the rate there remains stuck around 5 percent.

This group of 25 women, chosen for the money they generate, the influence they wield and the ideas and trends they are advancing, bring fresh perspectives to Asia-Pacific’s growing business world.

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This Startup Believes That Cryptocurrency Could Cut Down on Corruption in the Charity Cycle

IoTex, a woman-led startup using the blockchain to add transparency and accountability to philanthropy, knows that the tracking capabilities of blockchain technology can help make charitable giving more secure—even tough most charities don't yet accept cryptocurrency.

IoTex saw a need for a facilitator in many cases, stepping in with smart contracts and "redirecting the cryptocurrency hype to charitable causes," according to founder and serial investor Jing Sun.
The company aims to increase the ability of systems and investors to work together with privacy and security.

Read on and click through for details on IoTex's model, their work with the Ethereum Foundation to help move blockchain research forward, and more.

By Darren Heitner

Serial investor Jing Sun is interested in creating a new way of charitable giving. Even though the industry has already changed a lot by way of websites that connect you with charitable causes and even social media campaigns that easily allow you to donate money, Sun wants to take it a step further by way of the blockchain.

She has created a project called IoTex that seeks to connect the physical world, block by block and is heavily focused on charitable ventures, the first of which being connected to the Ethereum Foundation. I recently spoke with Sun to learn more about why charity is a focus for her startup and how cryptocurrency fits within.

Why is use of cryptocurrency a good fit for the charitable giving industry?

Sun: The benefit of blockchain is that it cuts out the middleman as well as enables the transparency and accountability of charity and other NGOs about how the money is actually spent. Basically, cryptocurrency could cut down on corruption in the charity cycle.

Using cryptocurrency, all the transactions you made to the charity could be tracked and transparent to public. Also, an individual donor would have the ability to voice out if they suspected wrongdoing. Currently, the bottleneck is that most charities still don't accept digital currency.

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