March 8 is synonymous around the world as International Women’s Day, and as of 2015 cryptocurrency now has its own version, Bitcoin Women’s Day, with sponsorship from major players including BitPay and the Bitcoin Foundation.

The event, set to be held annually from this year, seeks to champion the role of women in the digital currency community, after a recent poll by 99bitcoins suggested only 8% of users were female. Speaking to CryptoCoinsNews, organizer Sarah Boone Martin said she had nonetheless been taken aback by the strength of response after launching the campaign.

“We never anticipated Bitcoin Women’s Day would hit this big,” she said. “The response has been overwhelming. It’s inspiring to see the whole community, men and women, unite around something as important as this.”

Bitcoin Women’s Day is being run with support from big names in the industry, and seeks to highlight the essential work done by women in these and other digital currency organizations.

Cointelegraph as a publication is no exception, having been spearheaded from the outset by Maria Jones, who as General Manager has become a familiar face in the community.

“I am thrilled that such a concerted effort has been made to bring the values of IWD to Bitcoin,” she said, “Sarah has done an amazing job and the sponsorship of such well-known industry leaders is testament to what can be achieved in Bitcoin and the innovative stance held by its community. The whole thing is truly inspiring.”

Optimism surrounding the pioneering event is echoed by Business Development Director Victoria Vaughan. “As someone tasked with expanding and uniting the cryptocurrency community, both corporate and private, I’ve never been more thrilled to witness the incredible response to the Bitcoin IWD concept,” she said. “While this was perhaps not entirely expected, it certainly serves to highlight the progressive nature of what we’re working in, and I hope it receives regular support to grow bigger and better with each year that passes.”

With the community buzzing around the topic, Cointelegraph wanted to challenge perceptions and ask people to consider the fabric of Bitcoin’s very foundations. A social media survey in which respondents provided their thoughts on the question “What if Satoshi were a woman?” gained varied results, some of which can be read below.

 “While it would be an excellent message to empower young women to enter the computer science field, and show how they can have a huge impact in making the world a better place, it would do nothing for Bitcoin.” – u/canadiandev via Reddit

“I don't care about Satoshi's gender at all. His/her software was opensourced, that's the important thing.” – u/burstup via Reddit

“Were there any women on Cypherpunks? No one seriously thinks Satoshi is a woman, but neither can anyone forclose the possibility.” – u/swmich73 via Reddit

More information on the first annual Bitcoin Women’s Day can be found here.

March 8

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