Crypto has a reputation problem. Most people picture a guy in a hoodie when they think about who runs the space. But that picture is outdated. Women are building companies, shaping policy, and moving billions of dollars across the industry. They’re not just participating. They’re leading.
The Regulators Rewriting the Rules
Hester Peirce stands out. As an SEC Commissioner, she’s become known as “Crypto Mom” for her willingness to push back against restrictive policies. While other regulators treated crypto like a threat, Peirce asked how the SEC could help the industry grow safely.
In January 2025, the SEC appointed her to lead a new Crypto Task Force. Her objective is to establish an effective framework, a crucial step given that regulatory ambiguity has driven American crypto companies abroad. Peirce aims to rectify this situation by advocating for regulatory clarity.
This shift toward clearer guidelines has already impacted how major exchanges operate. Platforms like Binance have expanded their coin offerings as regulatory frameworks become more defined, giving traders access to vetted projects across multiple categories – from layer-1 blockchains like Solana and Avalanche to emerging DeFi tokens and gaming cryptocurrencies.
For investors tracking the best Binance new coin listings, clearer U.S. regulations also mean more legitimate projects can launch under proper oversight while expanding trading opportunities. The exchange now lists hundreds of trading pairs, with new additions regularly vetted through compliance frameworks that Peirce and others have helped shape.
Senator Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming takes a different approach. She writes the laws instead of enforcing them. Lummis introduced legislation to classify Bitcoin as property rather than a security. She’s pushed for better tax treatment and advocated for state-level digital asset frameworks. Wyoming now has some of the most progressive crypto laws in America because Lummis helped write them.
The Builders Creating Infrastructure
Kathleen Breitman co-founded Tezos back in 2016. The blockchain she built focuses on governance. It lets token holders vote on protocol upgrades instead of forcing hard forks. This was radical when most blockchains required contentious splits to evolve. Tezos now processes millions of transactions and supports a growing ecosystem of apps.
Breitman didn’t just launch the chain and disappear. She stayed involved in governance debates, pushed for institutional adoption, and helped Tezos pivot when the market changed. Her technical background and willingness to iterate made the difference.
Gracy Chen runs BitGet as CEO. The exchange handles billions in daily trading volume, but Chen focused on something bigger. She made crypto accessible in markets where banking infrastructure is weak. She expanded BitGet into Africa and Southeast Asia, regions where crypto adoption is growing faster than anywhere else. Chen understood that the next billion crypto users won’t look like the first million.
The Investors Moving Capital
Meltem Demirors founded Crucible, a venture fund that backs infrastructure projects most investors ignore. She invests in the boring stuff that makes crypto work. Custody solutions, compliance tools, and enterprise-grade security. These aren’t the moonshot tokens that dominate headlines, but they’re what institutions need before they move real money on-chain.
Demirors also teaches. She’s a vocal advocate for crypto education and has spoken at conferences around the world about how digital assets fit into traditional finance. Her ability to translate crypto concepts for mainstream audiences matters as much as her investment track record.
Arianna Simpson runs a crypto fund at Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s most respected venture capital firms. She joined a16z in 2018 and helped build their crypto practice into a multi-billion dollar operation. Simpson backs projects at the earliest stages, often before most investors understand what they’re building. Her portfolio includes some of the biggest names in DeFi and NFT infrastructure.
What sets Simpson apart is her thesis-driven approach. She doesn’t chase hype cycles. She identifies structural problems in crypto and finds teams capable of solving them. According to research from the World Economic Forum, women-led startups in crypto receive less than 5% of venture funding despite similar success rates. Simpson’s position at a16z helps change that.
The Educators Building Understanding
Camila Russo worked as a Bloomberg journalist covering emerging markets before she got obsessed with Ethereum. She left traditional media to start The Defiant, a publication focused entirely on decentralized finance. Russo didn’t just report on DeFi. She explained it. Her work broke down complex protocols into language normal people could understand.
The Defiant now has a podcast, newsletter, and video series. Russo built a media company that treats crypto like a beat worth covering seriously, not just a source of clickbait headlines. She also wrote “The Infinite Machine,” a book about Ethereum’s founding that became required reading for anyone trying to understand the space.
Lyn Alden approaches crypto from a macro perspective. She’s a financial analyst who publishes detailed research on Bitcoin and the broader digital asset market. Alden’s background in engineering and finance gives her credibility with skeptical investors who dismiss most crypto analysis as cheerleading.
Her work focuses on monetary policy, inflation, and how Bitcoin fits into a diversified portfolio. She doesn’t promise moon shots. She makes the case for digital assets as part of a rational investment strategy. This matters because institutional adoption requires analysts willing to do the boring work of fundamental analysis.
The Exchange Leaders Handling Volume
Kristin Smith runs the Blockchain Association, the largest crypto lobbying group in Washington. While she’s not building protocols or trading coins, her work shapes how the entire industry operates in America. Smith meets with lawmakers, testifies before Congress, and coordinates industry responses to regulatory proposals.
Before crypto, Smith worked on Wall Street and understood how traditional finance lobbies for favorable treatment. She brought that expertise to crypto at a time when the industry had almost no political organization. Research from a16z’s State of Crypto report shows that regulatory clarity is the top concern for crypto companies. Smith’s job is to create that clarity.
Her approach is practical. She doesn’t argue that crypto should have no rules. She argues for rules that make sense and apply fairly. This pragmatic stance has earned respect from both sides of the political aisle at a time when crypto has become a partisan flashpoint.
The Operators Scaling Projects
Katie Haun left her job as a federal prosecutor to become one of crypto’s most prominent investors. She co-led Andreessen Horowitz’s first crypto fund, then left to start her own firm, Haun Ventures. Her fund raised over $1.5 billion and backs everything from NFT marketplaces to decentralized identity solutions.
Haun’s legal background gives her an edge. She prosecuted digital crimes for the Department of Justice and understands how regulators think. This helps her evaluate which projects can survive regulatory scrutiny and which are building on shaky legal ground. Her portfolio companies get more than capital. They get guidance on compliance and risk management.
Also Read: Which States Have The Highest Crypto Adoption Rates?
