Are women better crypto investors? Here's what the data says

By the end of 2021, there was a very apparent gender gap when it came to crypto adoption. A study by WazirX, one of India’s leading crypto exchanges, showed that only 15 percent of the platform’s trading volume came from women. However, this figure increased by 3.30 percent in just one year, touching 18.57 percent by the end of 2022.

A report by CoinDCX, another Indian crypto exchange, provided similar findings. It showed that women comprised only 15 percent of the platform’s user base in the year 2021. However, at the same time, the report predicted this number to grow to 20 percent by August 2023.

These aren’t the only strides that women are making in the cryptoverse. Recent studies show that women are proving to be better crypto investors than men. Here are some facts and figures to support this notion.

HODLERs are those investors who hold on to their crypto assets regardless of the price increasing or decreasing. This is because they believe in the long-term value of their investments. According to a recent study by KuCoin, it turns out that women crypto investors are predominantly HODLers.

The report states that 52 percent of female crypto investors believe in HODLing. The same figure for men stands at 38 percent. This shows that women have “diamond hands” - they hold onto their assets and add stability to the crypto market. On the other hand, men generally have “paper hands” and sell at the first sign of trouble.

A study by Finder.com, a leading comparison website, showed that women check on their crypto investment less regularly than men. According to the report, a majority of women (21 percent) check their crypto portfolios once every month. On the other hand, most men (28 percent) check their crypto portfolios every week.

Continuously checking crypto portfolios can lead to panic selling/buying, which is never advised. Investors can make mistakes when making hurried decisions. “Women are apt to stay calmer than men in down markets,” said Marissa Greco, a financial planner at Greco-Nader Wealth Navigation, while speaking with Forbes.

“Men trade 45 percent more often than women do, and although men are more confident investors, they tend to be overconfident. By trading more often, and without enough research, men reduce their net returns,” she added.

Research-driven investment decisions are extremely important when it comes to cryptocurrencies. It allows crypto users to make well-informed investment decisions. In this regard, 58 percent of the women who participated in KuCoin’s survey said that they make crypto investment only after doing their own research. This is a much better practice than trusting in friends or blindly following the market.

A study by BTC Markets, an Australian crypto exchange, showed that women invest less frequently, but their initial deposits are much larger than their male peers. As per the exchange’s report, the average initial deposit in 2020-2021 for female crypto investors was $2,381. This is much which is higher than the $2,060 among male crypto investors.

The WazirX report provided similar findings, stating that, on average, women on the platform held assets worth Rs 9,650. This is more than 30 percent higher than men, who, on average, hold crypto assets worth Rs 6,676 on WazirX. Therefore, not only do women hold their assets for the long run and promote stability in the cryptoverse, but they also pump more money into the space than men.

Mainstream adoption is extremely important for cryptocurrencies. As more people use these digital assets, the market will see more stability and perhaps better returns. In this regard, women are doing an amazing job at bringing their peers into the crypto fold.

According to the KuCoin report, 40 percent of female crypto investors believe in bringing more women on board in the crypto space, while 37 percent think that women taking part in community interaction can help the industry become more women-friendly. When compared to their male peers, these figures stood at 20 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

The research-driven and pragmatic approach to investments has already seen women outperform men in the traditional finance industry. However, the study by WazirX shows that women have come to prefer virtual digital assets over traditional finance in recent years. Lower entry barriers, better access and inclusion could be the reasons for this trend.

This growing popularity of cryptocurrencies amongst women is evident from the 3.3 percent spike in WazirX’s female user base in 2022. This increase is extremely impressive given the disastrous events and the strict tax norms levied on VDAs last year.

Therefore, as the crypto market inches toward recovery, we can expect even more women to enter the cryptoverse. "My assumption is that since women control 80 percent of retail spending and only 1 in 7 bitcoin wallets are currently held by women, that the dam is about to break," said popular crypto proponent Tim Draper. And this increased adoption can and will spell nothing but good news for the digital asset industry.