Web3 continues to promise a more decentralised, merit-based digital economy, yet its leadership remains heavily male. Against this backdrop, Paola Origel stands out for the clarity and composure she brings to both finance and blockchain. As Co-Founder and CEO of Hyla Fund Management and Co-Founder of Amphibian Capital, she has built global teams and navigated institutional and decentralised worlds with the same steady intent: to build systems that enable growth without sacrificing humanity.
For Origel, leadership begins with presence. “It means listening deeply, holding space for diverse perspectives, and building from a place of coherence rather than control.”
Week 17 – Paola Origel, Co-Founder & CEO, Hyla Fund Management
Her approach challenges the long-standing idea that authority must be loud or forceful. In her view, strength is compatible with calm. It can be grounded, intuitive and deliberate. She credits strong male partners and collaborators who recognise that organisations thrive not when masculine and feminine energies compete, but when they complement each other.
It is a practical philosophy in an industry that still reflects traditional power structures despite the newness of its technology.
“Decentralisation has the potential to create a level playing field, but systems don’t evolve just because the technology does. Human consciousness has to evolve with it.”
Her point is sharp: Web3 cannot call itself inclusive while replicating old forms of dominance in new wrappers.
Across her career, Origel has experienced moments when her authority was questioned, either subtly or directly. Her response has matured into a consistent practice.
“I’ve learned not to take those moments personally. Respect isn’t demanded. It’s earned through consistency, through the way you treat people, and through the results you deliver.”
Trust remains central to her framework. Even in a so-called trustless system, human trust is the real currency. Origel leads with relational intelligence, an ability to see systems not as hierarchies but as ecosystems.
“My role is often to connect, to anticipate, to harmonize and to make sure capital, talent and ideas circulate in ways that uplift everyone involved.” Her definition of value creation extends beyond portfolios and returns. It includes community resilience and long-term regenerative growth.
For women entering Web3, an industry where technical fluency is often overstated, Origel’s recommendation is simple: curiosity before credentials. Understanding decentralisation, ownership and interoperability is essential, but so is recognising that empathy, systems thinking and cultural intuition are equally central to building the next phase of the internet.
“Web3 will need both to mature.”
She moves comfortably between grassroots crypto communities and institutional finance, seeing them not as competing spheres but as “two ends of the same bridge.”
Innovation flows upward; capital flows downward. Women, she notes, are natural synthesizers and are able to connect vision with execution and translate complexity into human terms.
As AI accelerates alongside blockchain, Origel is clear that feminine perspectives are not optional. They are essential to ethical design. Systems built without empathy or relational intelligence will be efficient but brittle. “Balanced design produces balanced outcomes.” Her argument is unambiguous: without women shaping the models and governance of emerging technologies, we risk repeating the same mistakes that defined earlier eras of innovation.
Mentorship has played a defining role in her own trajectory, particularly from men who recognised her capability early on. But she also acknowledges the cultural shift happening among women leaders themselves. The older mentality, “I walked the hard road, so you must walk it too”, is giving way to collaboration, support and shared ambition. She wants to see more peer-to-peer networks that help women develop not only business acumen but emotional mastery: “how to lead without losing softness, how to negotiate without abandoning integrity or compassion.”
Origel’s leadership philosophy, a blend of clarity, coherence and grounded intention, offers a blueprint for the evolution Web3 still needs to undergo. Technology changes quickly. Culture changes slowly. Leadership sits at the hinge point between the two.
Paola Origel’s Three Tips for Women Looking to Lead in Web3
Know yourself.
Clarity on your values and long-term vision becomes a compass in an industry defined by volatility and noise.
Invest in relationships.
Reputation compounds faster than capital. Integrity, kindness and consistency open the doors technology alone cannot.
Stay curious and brave.
Web3 rewards those willing to learn, experiment and evolve. Openness paired with good judgment builds confident leadership.
