WEF 2022: Satoshi Nakamoto could be a woman, says Meta VP Nicola Mendelsohn

Published at: May 25, 2022

The fourth day of the ongoing World Economic Forum saw major discussion around the role of women in Web3 and how the decentralized ecosystem can be a place for inclusivity.

Women are investing in crypto at half the rate of men. Join us at #WEF22 to hear about solutions we can implement to get women at the forefront of this digital revolution. @KristinaLCorner @sarahendline @Billwrightv @nicolamen @srolondon https://t.co/jBbiauzSWi pic.twitter.com/xWlhqv5p5m

— The Female Quotient (@femalequotient) May 25, 2022

Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr moderated a panel titled “Why Web3 Needs Women at the Forefront,” joined by Meta vice president Nicola Mendelsohn, Global Blockchain Business Council CEO Sandra Ro, Harvard Business School’s Sarah Endline and Splunk government relations head Bill Wright.

In talking about female role models in the Web3 and crypto space, the panelists highlighted the contribution of key female representatives in the nascent space. Mendelsohn quipped that Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto, who remains pseudonymous, could very well be a woman. She explained:

“I will give you one: Satoshi Nakamoto. I mean, we all assume it’s a man, right? Is that our bias? It’s just a name — it could well be a woman.”

Cornèr added that she believes the creator of Bitcoin is a group of people comprising both men and women rather than an individual.

The panel also discussed the challenges faced by women today and things that could be improved upon. Ro highlighted the growing contribution of women in the nonfungible token space and also raised concerns over the lack of women in the crypto trading space. She explained:

“While NFT domain has seen a great proportion of women participants, but crypto trading certainly concerns me because of the lack of women representation.”

She also stressed the need to create an “environment to accommodate women representatives on the crypto trading side.”

Wright, the only male panelist, believes Web3 and the blockchain space are inclusive by nature. He said:

“I think Web3 by nature aims to be an inclusive environment, and more diverse people involved would result in better outcomes. By research, it has been proven that diverse groups focused on a problem will come up with a better solution. ”

The panelists agreed that the decentralized world has seen a significant increase in female representation over the years and hoped to see the proportion grow in the future.