Gender portrait of a crypto investor – changes are radical

Just a few years ago, the crypto investor community was completely dominated by men. Women accounted for only less than 5% of the total number of cryptocurrency holders. However, the situation is changing rapidly, especially today. Before our eyes, a real female expansion is taking place in the world of digital currencies.

Let’s evaluate how successful the process of integrating the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity into the field of cryptofinance is. Let’s try to understand what caused their interest in this area and share information about the main characters of the world of cryptocurrencies.

It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s Crypto World?

The results of several studies conducted in 2017-2018 by analysts from Google, Coinbase and their colleagues from other companies showed that only 4-6% of women invested their money in cryptocurrencies. Curiously, according to various estimates, out of $85 billion in profit earned by crypto traders in 2017, only $5 billion went to the fair sex.

Gender imbalance is observed not only in the cryptocurrency industry, but also in the world of traditional finance. Even 5 years ago, less than 10% of jobs in US investment funds were occupied by women. The cryptocurrency market is still a very young field. The first enthusiasts and pioneers here were programmers and cryptographers.

Attempts to explain the reason for such a meager representation of women in the field of investment (and, of course, cryptocurrency investments) have been made repeatedly. Some assumptions are absurd and lack logic, others are extravagance.

For example, former trader Joe Coates hypothesized that it’s all about physiology. Say, thanks to the production of testosterone, it is easier for men to take risks. At the same time, women are more reasonable and make fewer rash decisions. However, as a result of practical experiments, this hypothesis has not been confirmed.

But a permanent contributor to the Financial Times, Hannah Kuchler, believes that the main reason should be sought not in physiology at all, but in psychology and the social system of expectations and restrictions on women.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that in the early years of the development of the crypto industry, this world was dominated by men. But even then there were cryptoladies who actively sought to popularize investments in digital assets among the weaker sex. For example, Lexia Bonatsos, a well-known venture investor and co-editor of the popular publication TechCrunch, urged on Twitter:

“Women, pay attention to crypto assets. Otherwise, the men will again take their hands on all the money!

What has changed in 3 years?

And it seems that this call did not go unanswered. According to a survey conducted by the Gemini crypto exchange in the UK, a growing number of women in the country are deciding to enter the crypto market with investments. Here are the key findings from the landmark study (2,000 people took part in the survey):

• 14% of respondents stated that they currently own cryptocurrencies (or previously owned). And here is the main surprise: almost 42% of digital currency holders are women.
• 9% of respondents said that they plan to invest in crypto assets in the near future. There were approximately 40% of women in this group.
• In just a year, the number of representatives of the beautiful half of humanity who have decided to invest in digital currencies has almost doubled. At the beginning of 2020, they were only 21%. At the same time, the number of owners of “coins” increased by 1.5 times compared to 2019.
• Interestingly, women even predominate over men (62% VS 38%) in the category of realized investments in crypto projects ranging from £1,000 to £5,000. However, in the category of more serious investments – over £10,000 – a different picture is observed. Almost 66% of men are already here.
• Most of today’s crypto investors are young people aged 25-34 (33% of respondents). Next comes the group aged 18-24 (27.5%) and investors aged 35-44 (24%).
• More than half of those over 50 show no interest in investing in cryptocurrencies at all.

The conclusion, perhaps, is obvious – women are actively penetrating the field of cryptofinance. However, it would be a big mistake to say that it is easy for them. But the crypto community – especially in Western countries – strongly supports such aspirations of the weaker sex and is trying to actively help women who want to get comfortable in the industry. And not only in the role of traders or investors, but also cryptographers, developers, economists, programmers.

Lady of the crypto world

It turns out that among the famous crypto-VIP-persons there are many women who are rightfully considered recognized authorities. Let’s get to know them:

• Blythe Masters. She received the high position of executive director of JP Morgan at only 28 years old. Became the author of the concept of credit default swaps at the age of 25. In just a decade, the global market for these financial instruments has grown to $62.2 trillion. She left JP Morgan in 2015 to form Digital Asset Holdings. Its main activity is the development of innovative software for integrating blockchain into traditional financial markets.
• Elizabeth Stark. Harvard is her alma mater, where she received her J.D. She lectured for many years on peer-to-peer networks, the internet of the future, and online security at Stanford and Yale universities. She founded the startup Lightning Labs to study and promote the Lightning Network technology, which she herself developed.
• Cindy McAdam. He is the CEO of Haro, the developer of one of the most popular multi-currency crypto wallets.
• Tricia Martinez. In her native Uganda, she developed and launched an online platform for micro-cryptocurrency payments.
• Caitlin Breitman. One of the creators of Tezos is the champion among ICOs in terms of the amount of funds raised (over $230 million).

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but even the few women we mentioned have made a significant contribution to the development of the global crypto industry.

Of course, digital currencies are not at all an area where the presence of a woman can be limited due to some objective reasons. And the latest research brings encouraging information that the gender balance in the cryptosphere is quickly being restored.

An exemplary trend shows that the community of supporters of financial independence from state control does not limit itself to some dogmas, but treats all its members openly and kindly.