For a long time, the cryptocurrency space has prided itself in being a currency and financial solution (decentralized finance readily comes to mind) that caters for all. The gospel of decentralization is that there is no discrimination, whether it is on gender or race or sexuality. But the reality is that cryptocurrency is a male dominated space. From the entrepreneurs to investors and traders, the crypto space is dominated by men, leaving women to settle for the crumbs.
WOMEN HEAVILY UNDERREPRESENTED IN CRYPTO SPACE
•But is women’s exclusion from cryptocurrency a deliberate act?
•Are there gatekeepers that stop women from fully participating in cryptocurrency?
Let’s dissect this issue, shall we!
So, the lack of women’s representation in the crypto space is a combination of different factors. First, crypto adoption started in online spaces that were run an inclusive and diversified culture. Forums such as reddit and Quora were the first spaces where cryptocurrency was discussed. These discussion platforms were the beds on which crypto adoption and popularity were built, so it is not out of order that we have less women participating in these spaces.
•Another reason why we have less women in tech is because of the rather high misogynistic nature of tech. Yes, we know that tech is profitable, and crypto and blockchain technology is open to all, still, we will be lying to ourselves if we said tech is very welcoming of inclusion and diversity.
These drawbacks nonetheless, the crypto space is beginning to open up to more women.
For example, in 2017, Forbes reported that only 5 – 7% of cryptocurrency users were women.
However, the stats are showing great signs of improvement. Women are getting more involved with crypto through different means, whether it is through trading or investment or ICOs or starting and running a successful crypto-related company.
•In 2021, eToro, an investment platform, revealed that 15% of bitcoin traders were women, and another 17% of Ethereum traders were men. The growing level of inclusion in the cryptocurrency space is encouraging.
While women are becoming more involved in crypto trading and investments, there is still so much that needs to be done. There is still a need to have more crypto-related businesses run by women.
•Out of 121 listed founders, only 8 of these founders are women, the rest are men. And this isn’t good at all for a tech space that’s supposed to be inclusive and diverse. The 8 female founders are: Flori Marquez of BlockFi, Yi He of Binance, Kelly L. Loeffler of Bakkt and Beryl Li of Yield Guild Games. Well, 8 is a decent number, right, some people will say. But these women, all eight of them, have co-founders, and all co-founders are men.
Now, ICOs have helped crypto-related companies run by women get proper funding, but that isn’t enough for the crypto space. Having only 5% of the total crypto entrepreneurs as women shows how far the industry has come, and how far it still has to go.
A more women-inclusive crypto space will ensure that adoption, and the quality and diversity of ideas in the space is increased significantly.
For example, World of Women, an NFT collection of different women from different races, has opened the NFT space to more women’s participation.
So, whether we are talking about the number of women entrepreneurs in the crypto space, or the number of investors and traders in the space, there is a need for more women to be involved and supported in the cryptocurrency space.
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