Women Are Using More Crypto Then Ever
The crypto economy is known to be male-dominated. Recent studies seem to show a progressive increase in women in crypto. The number of women has grown by more than 43.24% within the first quarter of the financial year. This is an improvement from the 5% women participation in crypto.
One of the reasons for the growth is the growing confidence in Bitcoin. The digital currency has become the best alternative asset. Most traders by now consider Bitcoins a safe haven. For that, women are growing confidence in using Bitcoin. The demand for cryptocurrencies keeps increasing with women among the new traders.
Several trading platforms have experienced a surge in the number of female users. Bithumb, for example, has seen an increase of 30% by female users in 2020.
Cryptocurrency is also becoming easy to use. Bitcoin is becoming more mainstream with several users. As it becomes a preferred payment method, most women look to it. Payment operators like Terra and 2gether revealed an increased number of women users.
Geographical factors are also relevant to women's growth in digital currencies. The countries with more exposure come with higher partake by women. The US and Europe lead the new adoption. In Europe, Greek tops further uptake. It has had more than 160% growth in the past year.
Reasons Women Took long to Embrace crypto
Cryptocurrencies started at the age of enlightenment. It came at a time when the equality debate was raging. It's somewhat absurd that it has taken this long for the women to join the crypto league.
Here are some of the reasons for such long delays;
Crypto is a nerd's world
Even though the world is opening up, some notions never seem to diminish. One of such is the perception of the nerdy subjects being male-oriented. The virtual currency and block chain are based on the "hard" topics. Cryptography and data mining involve a lot of algorithms. It also requires computer science.
Women have historically not liked these subjects. The trend has kept on with most early followers of Bitcoin being male. The current surge in women in crypto is part of women embracing the STEM courses. They are becoming more pro sciences and math.
The crypto world also involves too much stress and risks due to volatility. A study established men are taking more risks under pressure than women. This can also explain why women don't fancy the financial sector.
The historical Sexism in the sector
The financial sector is male dominant. The fintech world has been described as sexist for the longest time. Bitcoin is part of the financial industry. It is only keeping up the tradition of alienating women.
The lack of women's participation is evident in all the various aspects of the sectors. An example is a conference attended by Carol van Cleef. The tech legal expert informed Technical.lyDC on the few women attendants. There were only a few involved.
There have been cases of after-parties held at strip clubs. These are places men fancy more. It shows the actual state of the sector.
Such issues have seen the fintech come under scrutiny in recent times. Several groups are calling out the investment communities on their ethical standards.
The increase in women taking up virtual currencies is an improvement in the sector. The campaigns are becoming widespread. Still, it will take some time for the industry to embrace women fully, just like several other sectors in the world.
Reasons why Crypto Need Women
The fight for women's involvement in crypto has been on for some time. Still, not everyone understands the need. They believe the sector has been all good through the ages.
Women have a role to play in the digital currency world. Sarah Austin, an Entrepreneur Leadership Network, believes women are important to crypto development. She opines that the crypto world needs more women than ever. That the crypto space development will struggle without women.
The crypto world is more than just coding and engineering. There are several roles for women to handle. The main one being communication. Women have excelled in communication as they have better listening skills. They also tend to display empathy and are good at body language.
Communication is important to several businesses in the crypto economy. The sector has several products involving various users. Every product needs reliable communication.
Women also come with the needed community-building skills. Several cryptographic projects are collaborative. They involve several entities from the founders, investors, and traders.
Social media has proven to be an integral avenue for cryptos. Women have mastered the art of social networking. They have the marketing skills needed for crypto growth. They also come with effective emotional intelligence.
The women in the crypto space have demonstrated they can deliver. One of them is the Crypto PR Lab founder, Maria Prusakova. She had worked well on the public relations of the crypto world.
How to get more women to crypto
Even though the number of women has improved, there is still a gender gap. There is a need to get more women invested in digital assets.
Kelsey Cole, the co-founder of blockchain ad company Adbank, has several ways to improve women's crypto participation. She urges women to create crypto wallets. They should then have private keys. Managing the keys requires them to be knowledgeable about crypto.
Women should also be active in the community. Active participation is great for knowledge and reputation. They again should do more research on digital coins and the market. Due diligence helps in career progression and investments.
Bottom Line
The notion of crypto being a "boys club" has been on for some time. The women have shied off due to complexity and the risks. The trend is changing, though. More women are taking up cryptos like never before.
Women are not only investing in crypto but also improving it. They are involved in communications and community development. The gender equity in crypto is still not easy to achieve. The recent improvements, however, are a show of better prospects.
Disclaimer. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security or digital asset. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Cryptocurrency investments are subject to high market risk and volatility.
