We Increase the Visibility of Female Founders via Public Recognition, Awards, and Pitch Opportunities — Interview with Amanda Wick, Founder and CEO of AWIC!

Today, we're joined by Amanda Wick, Founder and CEO of AWIC!

Amanda Wick is the founder and CEO of the Association for Women In Cryptocurrency (AWIC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing women’s leadership, visibility, and equity in the digital asset and blockchain industries. A former federal prosecutor and senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Wick has spent her career at the intersection of law, financial integrity, and emerging technology. She is a prominent advocate for inclusive innovation, known for her work in anti-money laundering policy, her congressional investigation into the financial activity involved in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, and her tireless efforts to empower underrepresented voices in crypto and digital finance. Through AWIC, she champions mentorship, education, and global collaboration to ensure that women and supportive allies help shape the future of crypto. 

Chris: You’ve described AWIC as a platform “for women and supportive allies.” Why was it important to emphasize inclusivity beyond gender, and how do you navigate that balance within a mission focused on women’s advancement? 

Amanda: The intention behind AWIC’s inclusive language is rooted in the belief that advancing gender equity in crypto requires everyone at the table—women and supportive allies alike. I’ve repeatedly emphasized that allies, particularly men who commit to action (such as the Male Ally Pledge), are essential to changing systemic dynamics. By involving allies, AWIC amplifies impact, counteracts echo chambers, and sets a broader template for inclusion across the industry. The mission remains focused on women’s advancement, but recognizes that true equity means mobilizing a wider coalition that actively champions and sponsors women along the way. 

Chris: Much of the crypto space moves at hyper-speed. How do you build a long-lasting movement in a fast-paced, hype-driven industry that often overlooks systemic equity issues? 

Amanda: To sustain momentum in an industry defined by constant hype cycles, AWIC invests heavily in community building, rigorously documented advocacy, and data-driven programs. Systemic change takes focus and follow-through, and AWIC’s approach involves: 

• Initiatives like “Unmanel Your Panel” and public speaker directories—providing infrastructure for long-term change, not just short-term wins.
• Publishing periodic State of Inclusion Reports to measure progress and hold the industry accountable.
• Expanding mentorship and educational programs to build leadership pipelines that endure beyond market fads.

Chris: In your experience, what are the biggest structural barriers preventing women from entering or advancing in crypto, blockchain, and Web3 today? 

Amanda: The biggest and most persistent structural barriers are: 

• Access to Networks: Existing circles are overwhelmingly male, making it difficult for women to connect with decision-makers.
• Venture Capital Disparities: VC funding for female-led projects remains severely limited, both globally and within crypto.
• Confidence & Visibility Gaps: Women are less likely to promote themselves as experts or seek speaking roles—issues AWIC tackles head-on through mentorship, professional development training, our global speaker directory, and intentional inclusion on industry panels. 
• Systemic Bias in Hiring and Promotion: The “motherhood penalty” and ingrained stereotypes keep women from advancing, even as they gain technical skills.

Chris: AWIC offers mentoring, education, and professional development. What success stories or outcomes have you seen from these programs so far that really stand out? 

Amanda: Here they are:

• A growing network of women who have moved into leadership and technical positions with help from AWIC’s mentoring program, sponsorship circles, and professional development programs.
• Conferences and companies are adopting AWIC’s 30% women speaker pledge as part of the #UnmanelYourPanel initiative, leading to more diverse panels and better visibility for female experts.
• Strategic partnerships—Binance, for example, credits AWIC-led initiatives for expanding their hiring and empowerment of women into senior roles and product teams.
• Regional Ambassadors like Adilah Holivay are building local communities that feed into AWIC’s global vision while addressing unique regional challenges

Chris: Can you give us a behind-the-scenes look at how your global speaker directory has helped amplify underrepresented voices in major industry events? 

Amanda: AWIC’s public speaker directory, with over 300 professional profiles, has become a go-to resource for event organizers. It directly addresses the common problem heard from event organizers: “We don’t know where to find women speakers.” Conferences have used the directory to meaningfully diversify their lineups, weakening the prevalence of “manels” (all-male panels) and amplifying fresh perspectives at major industry events. Male ally pledges have also written in and provided examples of situations where qualified women have been included on panels because they refused to speak on a “manel,” and they were able to refer the organizer to the speaker directory to find additional and more inclusive speakers.

Chris: You have Regional Ambassadors like Adilah Holivay who bring powerful local perspectives. How does AWIC create a globally consistent mission while allowing space for regional innovation? 

Amanda: AWIC’s Regional Ambassadors bring on-the-ground insights and tailor programs to local contexts, but always within the framework of AWIC’s central mission of equity, opportunity, and access. The association ensures this by having two strict rules. The first is “No Mean Girls.” Whether you’re a CEO or a student, all are welcome. The second rule is that regardless of your gender identity, we don’t care, so long as you’re supportive of the mission. As an advocacy group, we can sometimes be militant and post spicy things that point out systemic inequality. Some people just want a networking association that doesn’t rock the boat; that’s not us. We’d rather warn people and have a group with shared values, than have more members who may not want what we offer. Because of this, AWIC members around the world find a mission-oriented support network around the world and are part of a movement, not just a professional association. 

Chris: Do you believe women-focused crypto projects are receiving enough venture capital attention — and what strategies does AWIC promote to change that? 

Amanda: No, women-centric crypto projects are not receiving enough VC attention. Systemic biases persist across the investment landscape. AWIC addresses this by training women on venture finance and entrepreneurship through targeted workshops and resource guides. We also increase the visibility of female founders via public recognition, awards, and pitch opportunities. Finally, we build bridges between women founders and supportive investors through curated networking opportunities. 

Chris: AWIC is producing a podcast to elevate women’s subject-matter expertise. What kind of narratives or topics do you hope to highlight that aren’t getting attention elsewhere? 

Amanda: Our “Women in Crypto” podcast seeks to spotlight women and allies whose work is shaping the sector, especially those outside typical “founder” stories. We delve into practical topics such as legal/financial frameworks, DeFi risk management, ethics, responsible investing, and governance—areas where women’s insights are often absent from mainstream coverage. We also highlight intersectional issues faced by diverse community members. 

Chris: What does “digital financial literacy” mean in the age of blockchain, and how do you think women’s needs differ when approaching these topics? 

Amanda: Digital financial literacy now means understanding how blockchain technology works as a foundation for economic autonomy, not just technical fluency. Studies show that women need to understand investments and technology more before they will take the same risk men will. So giving women the tools to identify scams, assess risk in DeFi, and evaluate projects independently is critical. Together with other educational partners, AWIC tailors education to address gaps (like financial confidence or legal rights in web3) that have a disproportionate effect on women. 

Chris: What will success look like for AWIC in 5 years? What tangible shifts in the industry would signal that your mission is working? 

Amanda: Success will likely not happen in five years, but benchmarks we’d like to have achieved include a visible closing of the gender gap in both participation and leadership in crypto, blockchain, and Web3 as evidenced in our 2030 State of Inclusion Report. Tangible outcomes we’d like to see would be more women as conference speakers, investors, technical leads, and board members. We’d also like to see VC funding for women-led projects moving toward parity, or at least into double digits. We’d like to see widespread adoption of our #UnmanelYourPanel inclusion initiative across the industry, and even beyond crypto into industries like banking, legal, and insurance (which also have their fair share of manels). And in a really great world, in five years, we’d like to see crypto have workplaces and an event culture where diversity and allyship are the norm, not the exception. AWIC’s mission will be working in five years if “women and allies” is not just language, but the lived reality of the global digital asset workforce.