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Crypto enthusiasts are primarily young, white men. Here’s why I think everyone should invest in crypto.
Men are still much more likely than women to own and invest in cryptocurrencies. According to Motley Fool Ascent’s 2024 Cryptocurrency Investor Trends Survey, nearly half of all women surveyed (46%) say they are “very unlikely” to invest in crypto, and another 23% are “somewhat unlikely” to do so. This is despite the recent recovery of the crypto market and the launch of new investment products for Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC).
So what’s going on here? It’s easy to chalk this up to “women investing differently than men,” but let’s dig deeper into the numbers to see what’s going on. Surely, more than 15 years later Bitcoin launched, we shouldn’t see the same type of gender gap that we saw in the early days of crypto.
“I don’t know what to do with it.”
One of the major concerns of female skeptics can be summed up as: “I don’t know what to do with it.” In fact, more than a third (35%) of women surveyed cited this as a major concern about investing in cryptocurrencies.
This could explain why even the launch of the new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) isn’t having much impact. People still have a hard time understanding what we can actually do with it.
Image source: Getty Images.
And that’s a shame, because some of the loudest voices for expanding opportunities for Bitcoin are women. For over two years, for example, Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood has been explaining why it’s such a fantastic long-term investment. At the same time, she helped explain the potential uses of this product.
Although Bitcoin is best known as a long-term store of value (similar to gold), did you know that one of its most popular uses is sending funds across borders to friends and family? Or that it is becoming more and more popular as a payment method in less developed countries? Mobile devices are now ubiquitous across the world, making it easy for anyone to send Bitcoin with just a few clicks and taps.
Elizabeth Stark, CEO of Lightning Labs, has also become another prominent voice explaining the potential uses of digital currency. His company is helping build and expand the Bitcoin Lightning Network, a lightning-fast payment system built on the main Bitcoin blockchain.
As Stark explains, the Lightning Network is becoming a “programmable financial layer for the Internet.” The more you can program this financial layer, the more you can do with Bitcoin.
“I don’t understand how to buy it”
Another concern of the women surveyed is the perceived complexity of purchasing cryptocurrency. Certainly, before the new spot Bitcoin ETFs launched, you definitely needed at least a rudimentary understanding of how crypto works to buy it.
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But all that has changed. Now you can buy it as easily as you buy your favorite tech stock. As a result, the new spot ETFs are expected to level the playing field for women and other underrepresented groups in crypto.
And since these ETFs were created by big companies like Fidelity Investments, you no longer have to worry about trusting people like Sam Bankman-Fried with your money. This should help alleviate another major concern mentioned by women: safety. The price of Bitcoin may still be volatile, but at least you don’t have to worry about your investment disappearing overnight!
Do men come from Bitcoin, women from Ethereum?
If you’re still convinced that “men are from Mars and women are from Venus”, then perhaps it’s time to explore the crypto market beyond just Bitcoin. There are literally thousands of different digital currencies, each backed by a blockchain ecosystem and a dedicated community of investors, developers and users.
When you invest in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), for example, you are investing in more than just a “coin” or “token”. You invest in its entire ecosystem. This includes decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, decentralized applications running on blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and many niche blockchain projects powered by smart contracts.
And if you don’t like Ethereum, there’s always Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), or avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX).
All this to say: if you think crypto is just for young white men, then you are sorely mistaken. There is something for every taste. So if you’re still hesitant about investing in cryptocurrency, it may be time to start looking into the various ecosystems at the heart of each major cryptocurrency.
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Dominique Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Cardano and Ethereum. The Motley Fool holds positions and recommends Avalanche, Bitcoin, Cardano, Ethereum and Solana. The Mad Motley has a disclosure policy.
Crypto enthusiasts are primarily young, white men. Here’s why I think everyone should invest in crypto. was originally published by The Motley Fool