6 myths about “cryptobros” and “cryptosisters”

In 2018, the series of talks at The North American Bitcoin Conference ended with a networking session that turned out to be a party at a Miami exotic dancer club that had been hired for the occasion. The incident was much commented upon because it demonstrated the masculinization of part of the cryptocurrency world, which is often portrayed as a “boy’s club”, a new space being conquered by the strongest like something out of an old Wild West movie.This idea has reached its epitome in the form of the “cryptobro”, a term that’s used to describe a certain kind of male investor who’s very active on social media, never puts a foot wrong in his crypto investments and who, according to Cristina Carrascosa , CEO of the crypto company ATH21, considers himself to have enough knowledge and experience to dish out advice and information to everyone else. For its part, Urban Dictionary defines a cryptobro as “A person with a weak grasp on cryptocurrency/blockchain applications, yet has formed very strong opinions on the ‘best’ ones”. The ‘bros’ claim crypto is a “man’s world”, but how much reality is there behind such a statement?"

Myth 1: “Cryptobros” are in the majority

False. When it comes to cryptobros, we can apply the old refrain that they’re not the majority but they make a lot of noise. In Spain, two women widely recognized in the sector spoke to Elle magazine . about the phenomenon. “I’ve been in this industry for several years, and I can say that none of the people I deal with has the profile of a cryptobro,” one says. “Nevertheless, I’ve come across many of them in Telegram channels”. For her part, Cristina Carrascosa says: “There is a section of people referred to as cryptobros that have done damage, because when the market is on the rise, it’s very easy to create a profile online and give explanations or investment recommendations with no responsibility.”

Myth 2: Women aren’t interested in crypto

False. A study conducted by Binance in 2021 found that men accounted for 95% of cryptocurrency users. But by November 2022, Statista reported that in the US, women had come to represent 26% of users. For its part, the consultancy Gemini has published a 2022 report showing that 47% of curious observers considering buying crypto for the first time were women, a figure that disproves claims of disinterest.

Myth 3: Women don’t completely understand the “logic” behind blockchain

False. This myth smacks of the old prejudice that women aren’t as good as men when it comes to things like technology, math or finances. All of these are areas that can be taught and are accessible to anybody who has an interest in learning them.

“When I lived in Ukraine, I heard a lot that tech industries are not for women,” recalls Mykyta Sokolov , a partner in the London fintech PSP Lab. “That is total BS. There is no ‘woman logic’, and there are only minor scientifically proven differences in thinking process between men and women. In my opinion, women are unrepresented in the tech industry because of the way their parents and society treat them. It’s especially relevant in countries with strong patriarchal values.”

Myth 4: Women don’t reach positions of power in the crypto world

False. Gracy Cheen, who first dipped her feet into crypto in 2014, recently wrote on Forkast : “The crypto world, to a large extent, is still portrayed as the Wild West dominated by male speculators and bro culture, reinforced by recent scandals (here she’s referring to the collapse of FTX) and the market plunge. Female engagement and leadership in crypto, however, can help change this perception and build a more positive image for the industry.”

In Latin America, Silvina Moschini, the CEO de Unicoin, is one of the few women leading a cryptocurrency whose essential characteristic is that it’s backed by assets and has been designed to generate dividends.

Myth 5: There are more men than women working in the crypto sector

True. According to the World Bank , only 28% of tech jobs are occupied by women, but that doesn’t mean that progress isn’t being made. Some 30% of new employees in the crypto world are women, according to Forkast , which sees this as a growing trend.

In its origins, crypto was considered a male space, but evolution is tangible. By 2022, the proportion of female executives in crypto had surpassed 20%. Women programmers, blockchain developers and front- and back-end engineers are involved in the creation of code. Then there are the entrepreneurs and women who invest in crypto, designers, social media managers and marketers who work in the ecosystem. The list is long, and these women are opening the doors to the industry.

Myth 6: Women only make “emotional” investments

False. The most common criteria used by women to select an asset for their portfolios is the asset’s current capitalization (59.2%) and the project’s capacity to resolve practical problems (52.4%), according to BDC. Emotional purchases are part of a tradition that sees women as prone to spending money in an uncontrolled way, and the same stereotype has been transferred to the topic of investment. But the reality is that the profiles of those who invest in cryptocurrencies are not influenced by gender but by their approach to risk and other types of behavior.

Cryptosisters and the gender gap

According to a study conducted by Coinbase , 31% of women with university education in the United States and United Kingdom believe that they don’t have equal access to the financial system, and according to the World Bank, men continue to account for the majority of bank account holders. This is why cryptocurrencies are an option that can help close the gender gap.

The global tendency is that women are becoming more involved in finances, and this could lead to the figure of the cryptobro being replaced with a concept that puts women on a par with men: the cryptosister. This word is being popularized with a positive connotation, alluding to women who invest in cryptocurrencies, who educate themselves about the financial world and who aim for this technology to become more accessible.