Sunny Ray sits down with Shambhavi Soni, founder of Bitcoin Her, an initiative built to close the gender gap in India's Bitcoin community. Shambhavi explains that at Bitcoin only meetups she noticed few women attended, and those who did rarely returned, so she began hosting lunchons, kitty party style workshops where women learn why Bitcoin matters, how to buy and sell it, and most importantly how to self custody. She traces the idea back to her mother buying Bitcoin and to the traditional Indian concept of Stridhan, a woman's wealth historically held as gold, which she now frames Bitcoin as fulfilling for a new generation. Shambhavi describes the spontaneous origin of Bitcoin Her over a conversation with friends in the community, the funding support from companies like Zebpay, and lessons learned from failed online meetups. She discusses the emotional and educational barriers women face around self custody, the funnel needed to teach Bitcoin without alienating beginners, and plans to expand lunchons into 21 cities over the next 90 days. She closes with her ultimate goal: a Bitcoin community so inclusive that a separate organization for women is no longer necessary.
How Bitcoin Her's founder reframed Stridhan, India's ancient word for a woman's wealth, as the bridge into Bitcoin self custody.
What is Bitcoin Her and what problem does it solve?
In India, female participation at Bitcoin only meetups stayed low, and even when women showed up they rarely came back. I wanted to figure out why and realized women just needed an approach that suited them. So I started hosting lunchons, kitty party style Bitcoin workshops with good food where we cover why we need Bitcoin, how to buy, sell, self custody and transact, all to encourage female participation in India's financial landscape.
Can you talk about the word Stridhan and how it connects to Bitcoin?
Stridhan essentially means a woman's wealth. In India that has traditionally been gold, something a woman keeps in her own custody as a backup if things go wrong in her marriage or life. But buying and storing gold today is difficult. When I explained Bitcoin as the new Stridhan, something you can self custody and pass to your children, there was an instant connection with the women in our lunchons.
Who told you it was a bad idea early on, and what was their argument?
Honestly nobody really told me it was a bad idea. The day Bitcoin Her was born I was talking with friends in the community about how few women were in Bitcoin, and one of them just said, why don't you go ahead and do something about it. I created the group the next morning. Getting that push from a respected industry veteran was all the validation I needed.
What did you try in the first year that simply didn't work?
Hosting normal meetups online never worked for me. Women are more social than people assume, so if you invite them out for a girls day they show up, but online events get far less participation. If you want to educate women about Bitcoin, you have to get them out of the house and give them an actual day together, not a call.
What breaks first when women who've never held their own money try self custody?
A lot of them are scared to even try because it looks very technical. But the minute they attempt it, it isn't really technical at all, it's a mental blocker, like getting a vegetarian to eat eggs. My approach is to sit with them through the process the first time. Once they've done it themselves once, it's pretty chill after that.
How is Bitcoin Her funded today, and what did that decision cost you?
I was lucky early on to get support from Indian companies like Zebpay, who back Bitcoin education projects in India. I also had corporate sponsors come on board, plus a few generous local supporters who just zapped me some sats. That combination was enough money to fund phase one of Bitcoin Her.
What are you pushing hardest on in the next 90 days?
We're starting phase two, expanding into 21 cities, and covering about nine of them in the next 90 days with four event types in each city, including local SIP and custody sessions, college sessions, and a circular economy experiment like a half marathon where people pay in sats. That's the part I'm most excited about.
Ten years from now, does a separate organization for women in Bitcoin still need to exist?
Honestly I would not want a separate organization for women in Bitcoin to still exist ten years from now. That is the whole goal, to open the doors of the existing Bitcoin community to women so it is no longer needed. If Bitcoin Her eventually doesn't need to exist, that is a win.
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