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By Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Contributor

There is a reason that the Crypto Bro has become a stereotype within and outside of Wall Street: Industry statistics back it up. A 2022 report found that just less than a third of American cryptocurrency holders are women. A spring study from the University of Chicagotitled Do You Even Crypto, Bro?reported that while just 12% of U.S. households have invested in cryptocurrencies, those investors are disproportionately male, young and white. And in a 2021 survey of more than 100 top crypto companies, just 4% had a female founder.

Caitlin Long, the founder and CEO of crypto bank Avanti, attributes these statistics to the fact that women have been underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields for a long time. There is not as high a percentage of graduates in computer science who happen to be female, Long told Forbes, referencing statistics showing the percentage of women employed in STEM fields is only 28%.

This is a very technical industry, she continued. If you're going to be involved as a virtual asset service provider, you're going to have to have a higher degree of technology skills, even if you're in a non-technology role.

Long was listed on the 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50a collection of women who are doing their most impactful work at 50, 60 and beyondand, that year, one of just three honorees working in the world of cryptocurrency.

Two years later, she has some company. The 2023 50 Over 50 has seven founders and executives who are leading and building crypto-related businesses and six who are leading the fintech industry. Heres a closer look at three standouts:

Sandy Kaul: Sandy Kaul is the head of digital assets for Franklin Templeton, which manages $1.4 trillion in assets. Her fascination with smart contracts began when she learned about the Ethereum network, the largest blockchain network. One year later in 2017, she forecasted about tokenized investments and asset management. In 2019, her team published a report on the progress of tokenization and the emergence of DeFi and NFTs, which caught the attention of industry experts.

Patricia Trompeter: Patricia Trompeter is the CEO of carbon-neutral cryptocurrency miner Sphere 3D. Her goal is to inspire women to pursue higher roles in every industry as the first female minority CEO of a crypto mining company, because she knows it is not easy to navigate the male-dominated industry.

Her first day on the job was at the Bitcoin Miami Conference in 2022, and she was stil getting her sea legs. It was intimidating to be one of two female CEOs of publicly traded crypto companies, Trompeter told Forbes of her experience at the conference. She nonetheless organized a dinner in Miami for female crypto leaders to mentor one anotherand its caught on like wildfire.

This year [in 2023], there was a brunch with over 200 women so it's great to see that the number of women in FinTech is increasing, she said.

Staci Warden: Staci Warden is the CEO of the Algorand Foundation, which runs the blockchain network Algorand. Previously, Warden worked at the Milken Institute, overseeing initiatives related to capital market development, fintech financial inclusion, and cryptocurrencies. Before that, she worked at JPMorgan, Nasdaq, the U.S. Treasury. Her business has taken her to more than 50 countries, and he has spoken widely about the role cryptocurrencies and blockchains can play in solving global problems and reducing poverty.

To see the full 50 Over 50: 2023 Investment list, click through here.

Read more from the original source:

Meet The Crypto 'Gals' Of The 2023 Forbes 50 Over 50 - Forbes