Why Women Don’t Invest in Cryptocurrency

After centuries of exclusion from financial systems, women continue to exclude themselves.

PC Aiony Haust

Why don’t women care about crypto? This question slaps me in the face whenever I attend a crypto or blockchain event in New York City, a majority-female city.

The percentage of women at these events mirrors that of a recent study:

15% of bitcoin hodlers are women, according to eToro.

Another (albeit sketchy) Bitcoin Community Engagement monitor suggests that little over 14% of Bitcoin community members are female. I would predict that altcoin and deFi involvement figures are even lower.

This doesn't even begin to take into account the social media discourse around crypto. Memes about how much your boyfriend loves crypto (like this one and this one) abound — and piss me off.

Despite optimistic articles and reports that women are getting increasingly involved in crypto or are “interested” in it (translation: not holding it), women, yet again, are largely missing the Web3 boat — just as they have with finance, tech, and Web 2. Why?

Disclaimer: I am not an investment advisor. The opinions in this article are mine alone and are not investment advice. There are significant risks involved in any investment, including cryptocurrency, and the following does not constitute any form of recommendation or investment advice.

Why It Matters That Women Don’t Have Crypto

It is my opinion, and that of billionaires, tech companies, and entrepreneurs around the world, that blockchain-based technology will change the world.

The current stage of crypto and blockchain technology is routinely likened to the early days of the internet. athis translates to massive opportunity for industry participants to shape industries — and capitalize on immense, short-term growth.

Why? For the first time in human history, you and I can exchange funds anytime, anywhere without a third-party institution.

And blockchain’s use-cases aren’t limited to money. As distributed ledger technology, a blockchain can be used to record anything of importance — all while guaranteeing data integrity. Think everything from real estate transactions to land rights to supply chains.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) represent the beginning of blockchain-based tech. As you read this, companies and smart individuals are deciding what the financial world of the future will look like.

If women don't bother to get involved in crypto, then they renounce the opportunity to shape the next tech revolution — and the profits that come with it.

Not convinced (or know someone who isn’t)? Check out my article, “Your Parents’ Top 10 Questions About Cryptocurrency, Answered.”

Money: A Man’s Game

Western women have a bleak history of being excluded from money and property ownership.

• 12th century England: Married women cannot own property or businesses, and cannot sue anyone in court.
• 1718: Pennsylvania allows women to make financial decisions — only if their husbands are at sea or ill.
• 1839: Mississippi becomes the first state to allow women to hold property.
• 1844: Women in Maine become the first to be able to legally earn income separately from their husbands.
• 1880: The first women’s U.S. stock exchange opens.
• By 1900: All states allowed women to exist as financial entities separate from their husbands, meaning that they could inherit money, file lawsuits, and weren't liable for their husbands’ debts.
• 1919: Women gain the right to vote.
• 1975: The First Women’s Bank, the first woman-owned commercial bank in America, opens.

The Legacy of Women’s Financial History Haunts Us

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”— William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun

Women’s disheartening history with money permeates American gender and money norms today.

• Women are less financially literate than men, on average, and are also less confident in what they do know, according to recent surveys.

Men are supposed to make more money than women. This is so ingrained that, when women make more money, they lie about it.

• According to a Census Bureau paper, women will dock their incomes by 1.5%, and men will increase theirs by 2.9% when asked about their incomes in cases where women make more money.
• Heterosexual couples in which the husband doesn't work full time are 33% more likely to divorce, according to an American Sociological Review.

Though American women are making more money than ever, the narrative that men need to make more money — and that they know more about money — persists.

Women Are More Risk-Adverse

“Fortune favors the bold” — Latin proverb

Let’s go back to financial literacy. Even when women have the same knowledge as men, they are more likely to doubt themselves.

This remains true across a broad number of examples when it comes to risk-taking.

• Women are less likely to guess on SAT-like tests even when guessing would likely lead to a higher score, according to a Gender Differences in Willingness to Guess study.
• Women are significantly less likely to accept a gamble with less than 55% of success (same study).
• One study that tracked risk tolerance among school girls suggests that, while the girls were more risk-tolerant than boys at the start of elementary school, they became more risk-averse over the years.

Related Reading: “A Practical Guide to Reducing Fear”

It Makes Sense That the Risk-Adverse Are Less Likely to Hold Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is considered — and, frequently is — very risky.

Though cryptocurrency storage methods vary far and wide in terms of security — cold storage is more secure than a centralized cryptocurrency interest account as it exists in the holder’s possession and off an exchange— there are innate risks in investing in non-FDIC or SPC-protected investments.

Unlike a savings account, which is insured for up to $250,000, a cryptocurrency account is insured for nothing because it isn’t (yet) considered legal tender.

To make optics worse, $3.8 billion of crypto was stolen in phishing scams and malware attacks… in 2020 alone.

Comfort with Crypto Is Rising But Remains Low

Considering the novelty surrounding crypto, the lack of regulation, and media depictions, Americans, in general, are skeptical about digital currencies, though increasingly less so.

According to a 2021 survey, only 15% of millennials reported feeling “very comfortable” investing in cryptocurrencies — compared to 7% of Gen Xers and 4% of baby boomers.

It makes sense that women, who are more likely to be risk-averse and insecure about their financial know-how, would be the last to invest.

Women Have Less Money

It’s worth noting that women, on average, have less money than men, and therefore, have fewer resources to invest.

• In 2020, American women earned 82.3% of what men earned.
• During COVID-19, 5% of employed women lost their jobs, compared to 3.9% of men globally, according to Oxfam International.
• 2.3 million American women left the workforce between February 2020 and February 2021 (1.8 million men left). This is attributed to conflicts between work and childcare.
• Women are more likely to work low-paying jobs in healthcare, services, and childcare.

Psychological barriers aside, women have less to invest in cryptocurrency in the first place. Arguably, this won’t change until women get involved.

Ladies, Your Move

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart

The way I see it, there are two ways to consider women’s involvement in crypto.

1. Understanding: Women have a long history of being legally and socially excluded from finances, a legacy that extends today in the form of a financial literacy gap between men and women. It makes sense that women would be less confident on the frontiers of cryptocurrency.
2. Anger: Instead of seizing the opportunities awarded to women after a millennium of repression, women allow society to make them feel less confident overall instead of taking charge of their finances and overthrowing the patriarchy for good.

For the ladies out there, I suggest taking a serious look at the biases you hold against yourself and get mad at the millennium of financial discrimination we ladies have faced. Then stop letting history determine your success in the present.

Disclaimer: I am not an investment advisor. The opinions in this article are mine alone and do not constitute investment advice. There are significant risks involved in any investment, including cryptocurrency. None of the information in this article is intended to form the basis of any recommendation or investment situation of anyone. This article was written for informational purposes only.