Few leaders represent the evolution of crypto media as strongly as Alena Afanaseva, Founder and CEO of BeInCrypto. In seven years, she has grown it into one of the world’s top three crypto publications, reaching over 10 million readers monthly in 26 languages. Today, women make up 73 percent of BeInCrypto’s leadership team — a result that emerged naturally from how the company hires and builds, not from targets on paper.
As part of Drofa Comms’ Women Leading the Way series, we spoke with Alena about how curiosity, conviction, and credibility have shaped both her journey and BeInCrypto’s culture.
Alena’s career began in traditional finance, where she moved from analyst to head of one of the first Russian-language financial newswires for traders. Later, as managing editor of a financial magazine, Alena learned the mechanics of analysis, operations, and digital transformation. When she first encountered Bitcoin in 2013, the familiar macro tools she relied on no longer worked. Curiosity took over, and what began as professional research soon became conviction.
The ICO wave that followed revealed a deeper flaw: the absence of reliable journalism. “There was no real journalism, no accountability, only pay-to-play coverage,” she recalls. Out of that gap, BeInCrypto was born — a newsroom built on transparency, professional standards, and accountability to readers rather than advertisers.
Its growth has mirrored its values. Recruitment centres on curiosity, resilience, and alignment with mission — qualities that shaped a globally diverse team. Beyond reporting, BeInCrypto uses its reach to widen representation through the BeInCrypto 100 Awards, SheVerified, and partnerships with Wirex’s Rising Women in Crypto, spotlighting innovators often overlooked by mainstream media.
For Alena, the bigger mission is redefining what credibility looks like in an industry that reinvents itself every year. She believes the next generation of women in finance and Web3 should measure success not by belonging but by building. “Self-belief often becomes the spark that convinces others to believe in you, too,” she says — a line that captures both her leadership and her legacy.
Read the full interview with Alena Afanaseva on BeInCrypto’s rise and her vision for leadership and integrity in Web3:
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