Robert Poskart, PhD. University of Opole, Poland
The emergence of cryptocurrencies as a groundbreaking financial innovation has fundamentally transformed the landscape of global finance, challenging traditional monetary systems and investment paradigms. Since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009, the cryptocurrency market has demonstrated explosive growth in value, with market capitalization occasionally surpassing that of established global financial institutions and even the exchanges of highly developed world economies (Auer and Tercero-Lucas, 2021). In an era of advancing monetary system digitalization, the exponential growth in crypto-assets’ significance has become the subject of intensive discourse not only in academic circles but also among capital market practitioners.
Decentralized payment systems based on blockchain technology emerge as potential catalysts for democratizing access to financial instruments, particularly significant in regions characterized by insufficient banking infrastructure. However, during this technological revolution, a substantial divergence in adoption patterns has emerged – specifically, a persistent and scientifically documented gender gap in cryptocurrency ownership, trading activity, and overall engagement in the digital asset environment. The asymmetry in cryptocurrency adoption between women and men constitutes an intriguing research domain, especially as it resonates with broader discussions on financial inclusion and gender equality in the digital economy era.
Recent empirical studies suggest that although cryptocurrency was initially conceived as an innovation democratizing the financial world, its adoption has largely replicated, and in some cases amplified, existing gender disparities in traditional financial markets (Bannier et al., 2019). Thus, the observable asymmetry in participation between genders in the cryptocurrency ecosystem emerges as a significant issue warranting particular scholarly attention, representing a crucial matter in the context of equalizing access to financial innovations (Bohr and Bashir, 2014; Alonso et al., 2023; Matcu et al., 2023; Rani and Kumar, 2024).
This phenomenon demands thorough investigation as it may have profound implications for wealth distribution and economic opportunities in an increasingly digitized financial landscape. Several academic studies have documented substantial differences in cryptocurrency adoption rates between men and women across various jurisdictions. For instance, in the United States, male respondents demonstrate a 2 to 2.2 percentage point higher probability of cryptocurrency ownership compared to their female counterparts (Auer and Tercero-Lucas, 2021). Similar patterns have been observed in other markets, albeit with varying magnitudes of disparity. What renders this gender difference particularly intriguing is its persistence even as measured levels of cryptocurrency knowledge between genders have begun to converge (Rani and Kumar, 2024).
The significance of these studies extends beyond merely identifying gender differences in adoption rates. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these differences is crucial for several reasons: First, as cryptocurrencies increasingly integrate with mainstream financial systems, gender-based adoption gaps may exacerbate existing economic inequalities. Second, identifying barriers impeding women’s participation in cryptocurrency markets may inform systemic regulatory interventions aimed at promoting more inclusive financial innovations. Third, insight into gender-specific adoption patterns may enhance our understanding of technology diffusion in financial markets on a broader, global scale.
References:
- Alonso, S.L.N. et al. (2023) ‘Gender gap in the ownership and use of cryptocurrencies: Empirical evidence from Spain’, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 9(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2023.100103.
- Auer, R. and Tercero-Lucas, D. (2021) ‘Distrust or speculation? The socioeconomic drivers of U.S. cryptocurrency investments INTERNATIONAL MACROECONOMICS AND FINANCE MONETARY ECONOMICS AND FLUCTUATIONS’, Journal of Financial Stability, 62.
- Bannier, C. et al. (2019) ‘The gender gap in “Bitcoin literacy”’, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 22, pp. 129–134. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2019.02.008.
- Bohr, J. and Bashir, M. (2014) Who Uses Bitcoin? An exploration of the Bitcoin community, Twelfth Annual Conference on Privacy, Security and Trust. PST.
- Matcu, M. et al. (2023) ‘Beniamin-Vladut Faraonel A comparative study of Romanian students’ perceptions on cryptocurrencies before and after the 2022 cryptocurrency market cap collapse’, CES Working Papers, XIV(4), pp. 382–407. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369641102.
- Rani, V. and Kumar, J. (2024) ‘Gender differences in FinTech adoption: What do we know, and what do we need to know?’, Journal of Modelling in Management, 19(4), pp. 1215–1236. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JM2-06-2023-0121.