In the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), some might claim that only two hot topics burn bright: the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and every other project. However, in reality, many exciting NFT projects emerge daily, and female artists make up a crucial part of profitable NFT offerings. Women, often underrepresented in emerging industries, are leaping to the forefront in the NFT space. As women artists, creatives and entrepreneurs see new opportunities that blockchain technology offers, women-led projects shape the wider crypto community.
In a decentralized world, women can be part of the force to abolish old biases and gender discrimination. As more women-focused projects become popular, niche communities emerge, attracting big-name celebrities like Serena Williams, Eva Longoria and Reese Witherspoon. Leading ladies in the world of sports, technology and art can improve the gender gap in the crypto space.
Famous Women In Web3
Serena Williams
American tennis champion Serena Williams recently changed her profile picture to a pink Bored Ape. She also sits on the board of virtual eSports giant Sorare. It is fair to say that she is aping into the world of NFTs. Williams has positioned herself as a leading woman in the movement towards Web3. Having won 73 singles titles (23 Grand Slams), merging her love of sport and NFTs is a natural progression. She also clearly understands and values the role that fans have played in her career. For a lot of NFT projects, the fans take it to the next level, and the sense of community brings the world of crypto together.
Reese Witherspoon
Creative, funny and innovative, Reese Witherspoon is eager to shout her love for women-led NFT projects and was one of the first female celebrities to join the community of World of Women NFTs. When she changed her profile picture to her animated character, you could very nearly hear the community of women cheering her on. Ever since her time playing Elle Wood in Legally Blonde, Witherspoon has championed women-led initiatives, encouraged education and driven the need to position women alongside the male leaders of the world.
pplpleasr (aka Emily Yang)
pplpleasr is a multidisciplinary artist based in NYC. Her work as a digital artist includes visual effects credits in feature films (Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman, Star Trek Beyond). In 2020, pplpleasr went viral, creating original animations to help define the decentralized finance (DeFi) movement as well the NFT space. Animated films, the underground music scene and traditional Chinese and Japanese art influence pplpleasr’s work. pplpleasr wants to inspire more people to participate in crypto through a range of collaborations, including her participation in PleasrDAO, a collective of DeFi leaders and NFT collectors.
Virginia Salas Kastilio
Virginia Salas Kastilio, a serial entrepreneur and advisor, was named as one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 27 Women to Change the World. She is the founder of Humans I Trust, co-founder of the Human Trust Foundation and CMO of Veme. The Human Trust Foundation is a stewardship circle of entrepreneurs dedicated to saving the earth by leveraging advanced technology and blockchain innovation to turn the earth into a living bank. The first aim of the Human Trust Foundation is to regenerate the tree ecosystem to combat the 14 billion trees cut down every year. Kastilio is currently launching her NFTree Trust initiative to plant 17 billion trees in the next year.
Krista Kim
Known in crypto circles as the first artist to sell an NFT-backed digital home called Mars House for 288 Ether ($512,000), digital artist Krista Kim creates large-scale abstract pieces of art inspired by light. Known as the founding figure of the Techism art movement, Kim celebrates the coming together of art and technology as a new form of art. Kim champions technological innovation as a key component of the future of art and culture. Since 2012, Kim has gathered images of LED lights and manipulated them to form abstract works of art. The success of Kim’s art has led her all over the world, living in Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore.
Eva Longoria
No longer any form of a desperate housewife, Eva Longoria was quick to show off her NFT by tweeting: “Female-led project with purpose and meaning?! No brainer for my first purchase! @worldofwomennft.” Eva Longoria joined her fellow A-lister Reese Witherspoon in becoming a World of Women NFT owner and championing women-led NFT projects. Who knows, maybe Longoria will be the celebrity to bring L Oreal (OTCMKTS: LRLCY) into the NFT space — because she knows all women are worth it.
Toni Payne
Toni Payne is an award-winning multidimensional visual artist who specializes in the art of photography. She loves to create art around the subjects of food, travel, culture, architecture and wildlife. Trained in fine art photography, Payne believes that photographers are crucial components in documenting moments in time. Her first NFT photography collection “Power In Words” sold out in the first weekend of the launch.
Debbie Tea
As the creator of the popular NFT project, Jpeg People, Debbie Tea takes center stage when it comes to women in NFTs. As a fine arts photographer turned illustrator based out of Jakarta, Tea creates out of an obsession with objects, abstraction and the mundane. With a soft spot for nostalgia, she spends her free time sleeping or playing Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs). Tea is inspired by everyday objects and abstraction. Her playful approach has led to the success of Jpeg People, a collection of 8,888 word-based, AI-generated NFTs.
Sara Baumann
As an IIranian visual artist based in Dallas, Texas, Baumann knows how to stand out in a crowd. She is the creator of the Women and Weapons NFT collection that has taken over the minds of women in crypto. You could describe this collection of 10,000 NFTs as girlie with a badass streak, and it showcases a mix of diverse, beautiful women characters that have been transformed into valuable digital assets. The 200 attributes that make up the collection were hand drawn by Baumann. She also has a career as an occupational therapist where she used art as a stream of income to help pay for her master’s degree.
Grimes
Musician Grimes makes waves with her exploration of synth-pop and experimental pop, art and alien-like cosmetics. The singer, who is in a relationship with Elon Musk, embraced the futurist nature of NFTs and sold 10 pieces of digital art, with some having thousands of copies and some being one-of-a-kind, on Nifty Gateway. Her art exploring imagery of other planets, futurist technology, ruin and winged cherubs earned Grimes around $6 million in less than 20 minutes, with her highest-selling piece, “Death of the Old,” selling for $389,000.
Women in Crypto Are on the Rise
In 2020, Cointelegraph found the number of female crypto users grew by 160% on the majority of top crypto exchanges. To celebrate the massive surge of women into the cryptocurrency space, Benzinga recognizes some of the fearless women leading the way. The list consists of CEOs, founders, reporters and board members. Every conference stage in Web3 today needs to feature women who support the blockchain and crypto ecosystem.
