Financial Freedom Attracts Women to Crypto

Platforms like CoinMarketCap, Gemini, and Robinhood have reported a sharp increase in the percentage of female users, but little is known about what draws women to crypto, how they pick assets, and the barriers they face. These questions were answered for the first time in a survey of over 400 women from 28 countries that BDC Consulting conducted. 

36.7% of women enter the crypto space thanks to a friend or colleague.

The differences in investment decision-making between males and females have been the subject of many studies. For example, a 2011 paper by Gaur Arti et al. showed that women are far more prone to take the advice of their spouse or parents before investing, while a 2001 work by Barber and Odean revealed that men tend to be overconfident, relying on their own investment analysis skills. Is it the same for crypto?

It seems so – at least when it comes to the initial introduction to crypto assets. 36.7% of the polled women said that someone from their immediate surroundings (a friend, a colleague, or a contact on social media) initially told them about crypto and advised them to try it. As a participant from Greece put it, 

“I was introduced to cryptocurrencies by accident through Facebook. A friend said, “Do you want me to send you a coin?” He went on and explained what sort of coin. And I said, “Well, this must be the future, and I don’t want to be left behind!” 

17.7% said that it was the constant talk of crypto in the media that pushed them to enter the space, while 9.5% named ads as the main factor. Interestingly, only 15% of women said that their own research of various investment vehicles led them to crypto. 

These results hold an interesting opportunity for blockchain marketers. To attract a female audience, platforms should consider using women’s personal networks, perhaps even creating special female-centric communities in social media. 

Freedom as the best feature of cryptocurrencies

When talking about the advantages of crypto, projects often stress its more technical aspects, such as decentralization, banking the unbanked, cheap cross-border transfers, censorship resistance, and so forth. However, the women polled by BDC Consulting stressed a more general trait of crypto: freedom in its many forms. For instance, they pointed out the ability to dispose of one’s finances, the feeling of financial freedom, independence from the employer and the joint family budget, entrepreneurship opportunities, etc. 

Once again, these insights can be valuable for marketing: platforms should explain to the potential female users and investors how their product can render them freer. The authors of the study stress that it’s important to focus on specific aspects, such as having full control of one’s finances, rather than on the abstract concept of freedom. 

Women are quite rational when picking assets

Contrary to the common stereotype of women as irrational, most female crypto investors make decisions based on fundamentals, such as use case, market cap, team, and backing by funds. Only 25.9% said that frequent news mentions (‘hype’) are important, and just 16.3% named promotion by well-known personalities as a factor. For marketers, this means the importance of stressing a project’s objective strengths rather than getting it shilled by influencers. 

Projects should aim for more inclusive messaging

The survey also included questions on the issues faced by women when investing in or trading crypto, as well as on the barriers they face when entering the industry. The answers hinted that it’s not some inherent complexity of blockchain products that is the problem, but rather how they are packaged and the fact that the communication style in the crypto community is heavily male-centered. Among the issues pointed out by the respondents:

Website and ad-designs picture men, which sends a message that the products aren’t aimed at female users; here is an example from the Trust Wallet site:

Excessive use of slang and technical lingo without any attempt to explain its meaning (HODL, nodes, rekt, bearwhales, etc.);

In Telegram groups, women often feel uncomfortable due to flirty comments, being called ‘baby’, receiving inappropriate stickers, etc.;

Offline crypto events are dominated by men (both speakers and guests);

Women often don’t dispose of sufficient funds that they can independently invest (for example, because they have a joint account with their partner and have to justify their expenditures).

There is a lack of quality educational resources aimed at non-tech users.

If crypto platforms wish to attract a massive female audience, they should focus on creating clear tutorials without too much technical lingo, collaborating with female influencers, organizing communities and events for women, and making promotional materials and messaging more inclusive. 

You can read the full version of the study here.