05 Nov Women and Blockchain – Shaping Trading on Mobile
Similar to pioneers such as Ada Lovelace, the ENIAC programmers, Evelyn Boyd Granville, and Annie Easley, women are leading a number of innovations in tech, including right here at Bitfinex! Welcome to our series highlighting the incredible women smashing glass ceilings and combating the stereotype of the cryptocurrency industry. Today we are joined by the Product Manager for the Bitfinex Mobile App, who tells us all about how she stumbled across crypto when looking into payment solutions and quickly made a career out of it.
What did you do before joining Bitfinex?
Before Bitfinex, I was an Interest Rate Derivative and Fixed Income trader for more than 10 years. I was also the lead product manager for a fintech startup in delivering a trading app on mobile. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work in many cities, including Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Tell us about how you entered the Crypto space and what attracted you at the start
Mid-2017, I was discussing a business opportunity with some friends. (Bitcoin was still under $2,000 at the time!!!) We were astonished to learn that we would have to give up massive profit margins to third-party, in order to use their service to accept fiat payments from customers. In the quest to find solutions, we stumbled upon digital assets. It’s like taking the red pill in the movie Matrix and the way I saw the world changed. I was (am still) fascinated by the technology aspect of blockchain and excited by its potential to disrupt the status quo. Since then, it’s been a privilege to witness how the market has evolved with the explosion of spot and derivative trading on the back of institutional adoption and more user acceptance.
What is your role at Bitfinex? Tell us more about your daily routine at Bitfinex
As the mobile product manager, my job is to ensure that all the users have a great trading experience on the Bitfinex app. I rely on many departments to do the job- the design team to create beautiful UI, the dev team to make it all happen, the marketing team to make us seen, and the many support teams to onboard and troubleshoot for users. My daily routine includes communicating across departments, making sure the app is bug-free and planning features to keep improving the app version by version!
Tell us a story or something you particularly enjoy about working at Bitfinex
It’s been 2.5 months since I joined the Bifinex family, so I have to say my story is limited at this time. Overall, I enjoy working with a team of dedicated and hardworking people who are also passionate about the industry and deliver the best experiences for users.
Which suggestion would you give to other women looking to start a career in Crypto and/or Technology?
The biggest advantage in being a female in crypto or technology is whenever you arrive at an industry conference, it would be as if Beyonce has arrived. The conference would also be the only public place on earth where you don’t need to line up for the female washroom. Jokes aside, it is imperative to have more women in crypto and tech as it’s a place where we are underrepresented. As someone who has only worked in male-dominated industries such as trading and crypto, my advice for other women looking to start a career in crypto and tech is simply JUST DO IT! Forget about the intimidating stats that show gender underrepresentation, forget about the lack of female role models, forget that you might stick out like a sore thumb in places, and dare to be the change you want to see.
Thank you for your time, this has been unbelievably motivating and inspiring! It’s great that you have not let the ratio of men to women in the industry intimidate you and that you wholeheartedly encourage other women to join, even at the sacrifice of short washroom lines.
If you think a career at Bitfinex might be for you, you can check our current job openings at https://bitfinex.recruitee.com/