Women in Blockchain: Crypto Market is No Longer a Men-Only Business

Is there gender equality or still blockchain technology is a men's business?

Breaking the stereotype a recent study showed that 43 percent of respondents interested in Bitcoin investments turned out to be women. In this modern tech-driven world, half of Binance's employees are women and in India, women make up the majority of crypto investors. Even though crypto is male-dominated, some women are involved and using their talents to open up the space. Is it gender equality or still blockchain technology is a men's business.

What Is Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology?

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that are secured by cryptography and registered on a public blockchain. A blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions publicly and securely. Because it is distributed, it is not managed by a centralized entity, such as a bank or technology company. Blockchain technology eliminates the middleman, allowing transactions to occur directly between two people. The most prominent cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, have focused on payments, but blockchain technology can be used to facilitate computation, storage, and many other cases. This technology has the potential to revolutionize many elements of human lives, in finance and beyond, though some are skeptical of its long-term viability.

No Place for Women in Tech Until 2018

Until 2018, women played only a minor role in shaping the applications of blockchain technology — but male crypto enthusiasts created their brotherhood with private conferences and meetups. As per the reports, 378 venture-backed cryptocurrency startups were founded between 2012 and 2018 only 8.5 percent were founded or co-founded by a woman. In the tech sector as a whole, twice as many startups have a woman on the founding team—still low, at 17.7 percent, but much better than in cryptocurrencies.

In general, the lack of women in the blockchain market — until 2018 — can be explained by the historical dominance of men in the tech, financial and scientific industries, whereas the number of women, although growing, is still far from being equal. In these areas, women compose 10%–30% of the total workforce. A large percentage of women believe that financial independence is of utmost importance to them. Yet if you look around the cryptocurrency space, women comprise a small percentage of the crypto space.

The Rise of Women in the Crypto World

Now things in the blockchain and crypto industry are changing for good as more women are mastering new professions like investors, traders, analysts, developers, journalists, and even heads of companies. The year 2020 was phenomenal for the crypto space in India. After the Supreme Court clarified the legality of the asset class, it saw a steady rise in women investors entering the field. One can say that that there are more women holding leadership positions in the blockchain and crypto industry at present than in Silicon Valley. Many projects created by women are not only competitive with those created by men but also can outperform their peers. As the data suggests, the number of women in blockchain technology has grown from 8% to 12% in the past two years. Even the number of female blockchain and cryptocurrencies writers is increasing on a high scale, which is also notable as tech is not the men's pool table anymore.

Community is a core concept in the cryptocurrency space, especially when businesses start or are in the stages of an ICO (initial coin offering). ICOs are initiated when a group decides to start a cryptocurrency business and develop a product or service in the space, selling coins or tokens to raise funds for specific projects. These coins or tokens are made to serve a function in the proposed project. And who is better than a woman to build a strong community.

Why are Women the Better Crypto Investors?

Women are Savers

A recent study revealed that women hold about 8.3 percent of their income into savings (men save only 7.9 percent of their income). More savings means that women have more power to diversify their investments into high-return assets like cryptocurrencies.

Women are More Successful Investors

Women tend to evaluate risks in almost everything and mitigate them in the best way possible. According to research female investors tend to weigh risks before investing in an asset class. Hence, female investors can be more analytical with their investments. While investing in a volatile market such as crypto, their cautiousness nudges them into making the right decision.