Gender is not closely tracked, but some claim that cybercurrencies generally have a profile similar to that of banking which is often male dominated.
A survey provided by EthTrader reportedly showed only 4 percent of traders are female. Another came from MyEtherWaller that is said to signal 16 percent of traders are women.
One possibility has to do with investments themselves which, in their more risky forms, attract men rather than women. Men may be more willing to undertake risk than women.
Women generally seek investments that don’t seem to threaten their underlying investment, given the volatility of such instruments as bitcoin. Also many women—more than men—don’t consider themselves as especially skilled or knowledgeable when it comes to investments.
Crypto-oriented venture-capital companies are mostly male as well. Perhaps 17 percent of such companies have just one female creator, and even fewer have full female creative lineups. Females in larger companies may be involved in sales support or human resources, not in fundamental, creative roles.
Of course, cryptocurrencies really do contain considerable risk according to financial authorities such as Andrew Bailey, head of UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). “If you want to invest in bitcoin be prepared to lose your money,” he said.
Regulator Chris Woolard, said crypto does not “have the consumer protections associated with traditional assets.”
But women may eventually occupy more roles in crypto because it is not yet well established as an industry and much can change and evolve. Woman-led crypto-startups deal with such areas as “banking the unbanked.”
Of these, areas are controversial. Banking for the unbanked, in which women are involved, is an effort to get some two billion impoverished people from around the world involved with saving and spending via banks.
Digital banks are more efficient than regular banks, in part because they deal with digital money rather than cash. Banks can supposedly make up to 400 billion per year just by adding services to this sector of the market.