Only 5-7% of Cryptocurrency Users are Women
According to this Forbes statistic, there is about 1 female cryptocurrency user to every 17 male users. This low level of crypto adoption from women is concerning for all members of the crypto community.
The success of cryptocurrencies depends on mainstream acceptance of blockchain technology. This means we need more crypto women!
1 in every 5 of @hodlcrypto Instagram followers is Female
My instagram insights page is an anecdotal piece of evidence about this gender gap between crypto men (80%) and crypto women (20%)
Are women getting the message about cryptocurrency?
The gender gap could mean that women aren’t receiving the right information about crypto.
But is that a valid argument? After all, men and women have access to the same information and tools on the internet.
Both men and women are equally enabled to google up info on bitcoin and blockchain tech, watch hundreds of experts in the space on youtube, listen to podcasts, follow social media, etc.
With low female participation in these alternative media channels, we can look to the mainstream media for the mass marketed messages about cryptocurrency we know are reaching women.
Mainstream Media’s constant FUD Machine for Bitcoin
There is no shortage of negative media surrounding Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency markets.
In addition to this, we also know that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a very emotionally-charged topic, where people either:
A) Understand, and believe in the long-term potential of the cryptocurrency and blockchain movement
B) Don’t understand cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology and think it’s an unsustainable asset bubble
C) Understand cryptocurrencies and blockchain but still have negative biases towards it, and are incentivized to oppose the movement for their own reasons
For our purposes we will assume that the majority of women not participating in the use of cryptocurrency fall into group B. This is the group where mainstream media potentially has the most influence.
Warren Buffet and Jamie Dimon: Prime examples of Bitcoin FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
We are seeing a lot of the “centralized” world spread FUD about the “decentralized” world.
Warren Buffet warns crypto is a craze and a bubble that will eventually crash, leaving investors feeling “stupid”.
Buffet obviously has a lot to lose with cryptocurrency adoption, as this his investment firm will suffer due to the flow of investor capital from Wallstreet to the cryptocurrency market.
“You can’t value bitcoin, because it’s not a value-producing asset. Stay away from it. It’s a mirage, basically. The idea that it has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke, in my view.”
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, has also gone on record numerous times warning investors not to invest in bitcoin to no avail. He obviously stands a lot to lose, for example if all his retail investors decide they want to move 5-10% of their portfolio holdings to crypto.
Thanks to uninformed and biased mainstream media reports, the general public is more confused than ever about the cryptocurrency world.
For the average person, entering the market is intimidating. It requires skills and knowledge that uniquely combine financial and technological know-how. This is represented as even more convoluted by mainstream media.
Due to a growing number of either misinformed or dishonest mainstream media reports, the average Joe, or Jan, cannot see the facts about cryptocurrencies or its potential.
Do skewed media perceptions of Crypto affect Women more than Men?
The mainstream media outlets have skewed public’s perspective of crypto to the point where they don’t even want to learn more.
They think they have heard enough about how it is a scam, 
a fraud,
and of course, a bubble.
Because the majority of people consume their media from these large platforms it’s safe to say that they aren’t getting all of the right information.
Why Aren’t more Women seeking out cryptocurrency information?
My opinion is that a main reason for lack of female cryptocurrency curiosity is due to a higher level of risk aversion among females.
This study out of the University of Chicago shows supports this claim:
Finally, both testosterone levels and risk aversion predicted career choices after graduation: Individuals high in testosterone and low in risk aversion were more likely to choose risky careers in finance.
These results suggest that testosterone has both organizational and activational effects on risk-sensitive financial decisions and long-term career choices.
Women are, on average, more risk averse than men in financial decision-making (1). Gender differences in financial risk aversion, in turn, can be associated with differences in career choices.
For example, in our academic institutions, ≈36% of female MBA students choose a risky career in finance (e.g., investment banking or trading), whereas 57% of male students do so.
Although social and cultural expectations for risk behavior and career choices in men and women differ, biological differences between the sexes could play an important role in these differences in behavior.
Female Cryptocurrency Influencers
Katy Perry’s Crypto Claws
Katy Perry has one of the most followed accounts on all of instagram and the post – captioned “$—CrYpTo ClAwS—$” – managed to generate over 200K likes.
Perry has also tagged the Instagram accounts of all five cryptocurrencies, directing followers to their instagram accounts – ethereum_updates, litecoinofficial, bit, stellarlumens and moneroofficial.
Paris Hilton publicly backing ICO’s
Paris Hilton is another example of a high-profile hollywood celebrity who has publicly revealed their involvement in cryptocurrency.
This past September (2017), Paris Hilton posted on twitter that she was:
“looking forward to participating in the new” LydianCoin — a platform that wants to combine the blockchain with “targeted, AI driven digital marketing and advertising services.”—Paris Hilton (@ParisHilton) September 3, 2017
Since then, the post has been deleted. It was probably a shit token anyways, but we will give Paris Hilton an “E” for effort on that one.
The opportunity to educate Women on Cryptocurrency
There is a big opportunity to further educate women on cryptocurrency and the changing technology world around us. Some women are stepping up to the plate to advocate for cryptocurrency.
Many women are advocates for equality in the workforce and giving them the information to understand it will help them get up to speed and succeed in this industry.
More and more jobs are/will be opening up for people who have blockchain expertise or knowledge and it would be great to get some women filling these jobs. It’s a new enough field that women who join now can grow with the industry as it evolves.
What can YOU do?
It’s simple, just share with them the basics of blockchain/crypto, the positive impact that it could have on the world, and how to get started and keep on top of all the changes in this exciting space.
Crypto isn’t all about investing your debt and making enough money to buy a lambo. It’s about changing many broken & outdated systems out there and making them more secure, safe, and efficient.
I encourage all of you to talk to the women in your life about cryptocurrencies and get them to join the crypto revolution.
Hold on for dear life.