Cryptocurrency: Is the future feminine?

M for Male, M for Controllers and M for Digital Currencies. Coincidence or accident? What is certain is that most women’s crypto initiatives have so far been poorly publicized or completely ignored. However, although it is very little studied, female crypto adoption represents an essential lever for global crypto adoption. But what are women doing in the crypto space right now? How do they contribute to creating the next version of the economy? In this article, we shed light on women’s involvement in a space that feels like it is controlled by the male gender. Read instead.

Annual growth of 16% in the population of crypto users

According to figures from statistical research agency Triple A, women represented nearly 21% of crypto users worldwide in November 2021. One year later, in November 2022, this figure increased by more than 16%. Now estimated at 420 million people, the global population of cryptocurrency users is made up of more than 36% women.

In other words, in just 12 months, the crypto market welcomed more than 60 million new cryptocurrency users. Clearly, we can say that female crypto adoption is silently underway. The report also indicates that the vast majority of these crypto users have registered for a long-term investment approach.

According to the agency, 70% of female crypto wallet owners declared themselves to be HODLers. In addition, 40% say they consider bitcoin to be a savings product. How can we prove them wrong when we know that the price of bitcoin, which was $430.57 in 2015, rose to nearly $69,000 in 2021? Additionally, the crypto could see its value rise to 6 figures within one, two or three years. This is a rare performance on the financial markets.

Female crypto users’ preference for long-term holding indicates that women trust cryptocurrencies more than men. Within a few years, women could have enormous power in the crypto market with large amounts of crypto held in their wallets. We can already see the role of the fairer sex in global crypto adoption. Moreover, currently, several women are already proving themselves on the cryptocurrency scene.

These female figures who impress in the crypto ecosystem

Ruja Ignatova, the Bulgarian businesswoman who called herself the “Crypto Queen,” could have made an excellent leader of global female crypto adoption. Unfortunately, pursued by the FBI for her $4 billion crypto scam, she is unlikely to resurface anytime soon.

But if the crypto queen has lost her throne, the crypto world has several other female figures. For example, did you know that the association for the development of digital assets has a woman called Faustine Fleuret as its president. Did you also know that the first French crypto consulting firm, Blockchain Partner, was co-founded by a woman, Claire Balva?

You may know Élisabeth Stark, co-founder of the company Lightning Labs? Or, Kathleen Breitman, co-founder of the Tezos blockchain? Did you know that the founders of the company Digital Currency Group include a woman, Melmet Demirors, among their ranks? It is impossible to make an exhaustive list of women who stand out in the very male circle of cryptocurrency users. Besides, if it turns out, the future crypto may be female.

That said, this ambition will only be achievable if a gender approach is integrated into global policies related to promoting the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Indeed, certain factors continue to limit the presence of women in the crypto ecosystem.

Female crypto adoption: no woman has raised more than $100 million

While it is true that women are increasingly participating in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, there is still a way to go on an entrepreneurial level. The Boston Consulting Group and the People of Crypto Labs investigated the presence of women in crypto, blockchain, NFT and Web3 startups in general.

The survey covered 3,000 Web3 startups. It revealed that the amount of funding raised by female founders is four times lower than the fundraising of their male colleagues. The study also noted the near-total absence of women in large-scale crypto funding rounds, i.e. from Series A to Series C.

For example, out of 100 fundraisings worth between $1 and $19 million, 3 are made by a startup founded by a woman. For every 100 fundraising rounds of $50 million and $99 million, 1 is done by a startup founded by a woman. Beyond the $100 million mark, startups created by women are completely absent. And that’s not all.

African women: largely absent from the crypto space

If we consider that Africa is the next stage of the global crypto revolution, the problem of the low representation of African women in the crypto space will have to be quickly resolved. In fact, women represent more than 50% of the African population.

However, the continent is currently one of the worst performers on the issue of the integration of women in the crypto space. While a few African women are making their mark in blockchain in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, etc., less than 5% of African women use cryptocurrencies.

This state of affairs is favored by certain social constraints such as the low literacy rate of women. According to the World Bank, only 57% of women in sub-Saharan Africa are literate. This barrier, for example, will have to be lifted to facilitate crypto adoption on the continent, because African women will really benefit from getting into cryptocurrencies.

Only 2% of startups founded by women are crypto startups

You might also like to know that only 2% of startups founded or co-founded by women are crypto startups. The Boston Consulting Group and the People of Crypto Labs found that the same trend was repeating itself across most other Web3 sectors, including blockchain, NFTs, virtual reality, and more.

Their study revealed that this state of affairs is favored by the low feminization of large investment funds. On the other hand, sectors linked to Web3 draw most of their talents from fields with few women such as software engineering and finance.

According to the study, these factors push women to self-censor. They “don’t get started, because they know that they will raise four times less funds than their male colleagues”. Full crypto adoption could therefore be difficult to achieve if no attention is paid to gender in the composition of investment teams.

This being said, it may be necessary to launch a series of Women Empowerment type initiatives in sectors linked to Web3. It is clear that a sharp increase in the number of female HODLers will strengthen the status of savings product that certain cryptocurrencies like bitcoin seem to be gaining.