Zuckerberg (not Mark) signs on to advise a major cryptocurrency exchange

There’s a Zuckerberg on the advisory board of one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world – except it’s not Mark.

Mark Zuckerberg’s sister, Randi, is apparently all about the blockchain, more so than her little brother is, anyway. She has featured prominently in Huobi’s announcement of its new “expert advisory team,” alongside controversial Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu.

The team will work closely in the development of Huobi’s new public blockchain. A translation of the press release reads:

The team of professional advisors will provide expert opinions [on] Huobi’s public chain, from the basic technology of the blockchain to its industrial applications, commercial modeling, etc. It will also help during the Huobi Public Chain Leadership Competition.

Huobi is currently the third largest cryptocurrency exchange by market volume, behind Binance and OKEx. Two months ago, it revealed it would be creating a brand new blockchain ecosystem – the Huobi Chain.

The announcement reads:

The Huobi Chain Project will provide individuals and organizations with a reliable financial protocol for value exchange, fundraising, securitization and more. While both private and public chains are decentralized peer-to-peer networks, the network within public chains is entirely open, so anyone can join and participate.

While it’s not the Zuckerberg sibling most have been looking for, Randi has become an influential figure in her own right. It’s not like they don’t get along, either – they’ve had a storied working relationship; she worked at Facebook for six years.

Facebook has been the focus of cryptocurrency speculators for years. The idea is that if the most popular social media platform in the world suddenly backs Bitcoin – it might be the first domino to fall that would lead to widespread global adoption.

In fact, after it reversed its cryptocurrency advertising ban in June, rumors began circulating that Facebook was looking to buy popular cryptocurrency broker Coinbase. To compare the scope of both platforms, Facebook has two billion users, Coinbase has just 10 million.

On the surface, this certainly appears to be a ploy at leveraging the Zuckerberg name to boost interest in Huobi’s new blockchain. If we go a little deeper, though, she might have already revealed her intentions: encouraging women to join the tech industry.

“That’s actually why I’ve taken such an interest in new, emerging fields like blockchain, cryptocurrency, and cannabis,” Randi told Quartz in an interview earlier this year. ”Not because I, like, 100 percent think any of these things are going to be the next big thing. But it is way easier for all of us to start on an even playing field in these new industries that are starting now than to struggle to play catch-up.”