Inside SheFi: Paloma Soria Brown on Inclusion, Education, and the Future of Web3

Our latest Women Leading the Way feature introduces Paloma Soria Brown, Spain Chapter Lead for SheFi — a global network that empowers more than 12,000 women in Web3, crypto, blockchain, and AI. With three master’s degrees spanning journalism, economics, and philosophy, and a professional journey through Le Monde, IBM, Spotify, and now Bybit, Paloma delivers a rare blend of strategic insight and cultural fluency to every conversation about fintech.

Her path into crypto began with a fundamental question: who has access to complex systems, and how can those systems become more open? For Paloma, SheFi served as both a technical launchpad and a community where exclusion is actively dismantled. As she puts it, “Education is what turns exclusion into participation” — a principle that defines her approach to both work and advocacy.

Throughout her career, Paloma has gravitated to roles where innovation collides with established frameworks. At IBM, she helped legacy banks respond to digital-native challengers, while at Spotify, she worked with creators and technologists to reimagine how value circulates through digital platforms. Today, leading Card & Pay Partnerships at Bybit, she’s intent on making fintech infrastructure genuinely useful in people’s daily lives.

As a Black woman in crypto, Paloma has faced and confronted informal gatekeeping — especially in trading, investing, and financial literacy. Her answer has been relentless self-education and building strong communities of practice. The advice she shares is direct: “Enter as a learner, not as a finished product.”

In the end, Paloma sees Web3 as an opportunity to reshape how society itself functions: “Web3 isn’t only about code or markets. It’s about designing the next layer of how society operates. Women, and especially women of color, bring cultural intelligence and nuance that are essential for building resilient systems.” 

In an industry where code governs and communities set the pace, Paloma stands out as a new archetype of leadership — intentional, inclusive, and deeply informed.

👉 Dive into the full conversation with Paloma Soria Brown in our Women Leading the Way series: https://womenlead.co.uk/blog/paloma-soria-brown