Women are outpacing men as first-time crypto purchasers

Bakkt’s latest research on crypto behaviors and preferences showed that there has been a significant increase in crypto adoption among women.

As part of its effort to celebrate Women’s History Month, the research surveyed both genders to better understand the differences between genders when it comes to cryptocurrency ownership.

This is a man’s world no more

Bakkt’s “Women & Crypto” study looked into awareness and attitudes toward cryptocurrencies among women, who both own and don’t own crypto. The study, shared with CryptoSlate, aimed to uncover the barriers to entry women face in the crypto industry and better understand adoption trends.

Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the study’s participants agreed that the crypto industry is strongly associated with men. This, however, doesn’t seem to be a problem for an overwhelming majority of women, as only 5% of them said that the fact that it was a male-dominated industry deterred them from participating in it.

Women that don’t own cryptocurrencies said that a lack of understanding of the utility of cryptocurrencies and a lack of knowledge on how to get started were the biggest barriers to entry. Just under half of all women that don’t own cryptocurrencies said that the only thing keeping them outside of the industry is a lack of extra funds to invest in cryptocurrencies.

This knowledge gap for women who don’t own cryptocurrencies is significant—70% rated their crypto knowledge as low or very low.

But, women that do own cryptocurrencies are changing the narrative. According to Bakkt’s research, women who own crypto rate their knowledge almost 50% higher, showing that even a minimal investment in cryptocurrencies is enough to significantly increase knowledge. The knowledge gap between men and women narrows once women buy into the crypto industry, showing a strong will to learn and grow.

“Despite recent crypto volatility, there’s continued momentum for women’s crypto adoption and it’s reassuring to see that the barriers to entry can be overcome through education,” Nancy Gordon, the chief product officer for Loyalty and Rewards at Bakkt, told CryptoSlate.

And education sure does work—82% of women who have purchased cryptocurrencies said they will purchase them in the future. More than half of them said that they planned on increasing their cryptocurrency holdings in the next 6 months.

While men were early adopters, making up the majority of users in the industry in its formative years, women are now outpacing men as first-time purchasers. Almost 40% of surveyed women made their first crypto purchase in the past 6 months—compared to just 30% of men.

The purchases are usually small, with 61% of women owning less than $500 in cryptocurrencies. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the large gap in labor force participation. Another factor contributing to this could be the fact that, in aggregate, women earn less than their male counterparts and thus have less excess money to invest.

Nonetheless, the fact that we have seen an increase both in the number of women participating in the industry and in the quality of their engagement with the market shows that this is about to change. Fractional crypto is a strong acquisition pathway that mitigates the lack of funds that prevents women from investing in cryptocurrencies.

Bakkt’s research also identified three more major pathways to crypto ownership for women—receiving cryptocurrencies as a gift, redeeming loyalty points for crypto, and earning crypto instead of loyalty points. Almost 60% of women said that they would like to receive cryptocurrencies as a gift, regardless of whether or not they owned cryptocurrencies or not.

“We saw strong appeal for new pathways for acquiring crypto with gifting, redeeming loyalty points for crypto, and earning crypto through loyalty programs surpassing traditional methods and giving way to opportunities for inclusivity and accessibility regardless of gender or income level,” Gordon explained.

Aside from showing that the industry as a whole doesn’t discriminate based on gender, Bakkt’s research could be extremely valuable to crypto and blockchain companies. Women’s involvement in the industry is currently at its peak and recognizing how to reach this growing user base could be extremely profitable for crypto companies.