Why is it still only ‘dudes’ in crypto?

So much has been written about the gender gap in cryptocurrency investing, but it goes far beyond just putting some money into Bitcoin. In decentralised finance overall there are fewer women, both as users and as creators of businesses. One study found that only 13% of Web3 founding teams include women.

One of the reasons could be that women just don’t have the time. As we’ve said before, women take on a lot of the unpaid labour at home, meaning they typically spend more time caring for children or other relatives, cooking or housekeeping. If investing into crypto is a side project, it might not be high on the priorities list.

Another generally held view is that women are more risk-averse then men and crypto investing is inherently risky.

Whatever the reason there has been so much discussion around the gender gap that some academics in Spain decided to delve deeper and find out why this exists.

They put together a survey and obtained responses from 326 people living in Spain. They found that there are several reasons why there is limited acceptance of cryptocurrencies by women. These are:

1-      General lack of knowledge about cryptocurrencies as well as concepts like blockchain

2-      A lack of investment experience even in traditional assets

3-      Risk aversion

But, although it still feels like the world of crypto is in the domain of so-called tech bros, this is changing. Back in 2017 it was estimated that around 90% of users were male. As of 2023, 37% of crypto holders are estimated to be women.

The participation of women in the world of decentralised finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrencies can help boost financial inclusion. DeFi aims to remove a lot of the barriers to accessing traditional financial services that women around the world face.

If you are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies or just learning more about it, read our previous newsletter on the topic.

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