It’s probably pretty fair to say that tech-based industries are extremely bloke heavy, and crypto is no exception. However, as BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler notes, there is a strong and growing core of women in the blockchain sector.

The local exchange boss shared a few thoughts with Coinhead today on what her experience has been like as crypto-firm leader.

BTC Markets, one of Australia’s oldest, and most widely used crypto exchange platforms, also gave us some insights (further below) on the behaviour of female and male investors based on some of its most recent data.

 

Crypto bros aren’t the only group in the space

“Being a crypto-firm leader is tough, no matter what year or gender you’re talking about,” noted Bowler, with reference to navigating a crypto firm through a fairly brutal bear market with high regulatory uncertainty.

“Any professional who wants to meet the highest standards, especially in a burgeoning industry, will find there are challenges,” she continued.

“It’s clearly still a male-dominated industry, like my prior roles in mainstream financial services. However, in Australia, there is a core nucleus of women that is active and growing.

“Personally, I cherish the support and friendship of other women in our sector.”

And what about the still-prevalent perception that the industry is full of “crypto bros” dominating crypto-focused social media? Is that a realistic take on the crypto discourse dynamic? Or has it maybe diluted somewhat as the industry has grown?

“The ‘crypto bro’ dynamic… it’s still in the industry and it does contribute to the overall culture. However, it’s not the only group. There is increasingly room for everyone,” replied the exchange boss.

“The sector continues its march into the mainstream. And this is certainly true over the past few years, with more professional firms now servicing crypto companies and investors.”

“Overall, my experience [in the industry] has been positive. I’d encourage anyone to have a career in crypto.”

 

Female crypto traders seem to be more ‘price sensitive’

BTC Markets also passed us some data* it’s compiled that compares active accounts between male and female retail traders over the past 12 months. 

Here are some key takeaways:

• Female traders have exhibited lower reactivity to positive price action but higher sensitivity to negative price action in the crypto market.

• Compared to males, females have exhibited a slower response in terms of discontinuing their trading activity and returning to trades when the price of Bitcoin drops.

• Females appear to be more price-sensitive, often choosing to decrease their trading activity during times of high market volatility.

Source: BTC Markets. *Note: that the data set provided represents only 40% of the’s exchange data. Therefore, the findings and conclusions drawn from this data may not be representative of the overall exchange activity.

 

As an example regarding that first bullet point, in the month of December 2022, Bitcoin’s price closed at US$16,542, while the exchange’s data shows that 19.82% of female traders were inactive on the platform compared to 13.87% of male traders during the same period.

This is the highest level of inactivity for females over a 12-month period, according to the info supplied to Coinhead. Male traders/investors, on the other hand, were least active on BTC Markets over the month of May 2022, which can be correlated to the crash of Terra Luna on May 7, 2022.

On a year-over-year basis, the exchange observed that 69% of female traders reduced their trading activity, compared to 65% of male traders.

“Overall, these findings suggest that there may be significant differences in trading behaviour between male and female crypto traders,” noted BTC Markets. 

“Gender stereotypes, lack of representation, limited time due to family commitments, unequal access to education and resources, and risk aversion are some of the factors that may contribute to the gender imbalance in crypto trading.

“Addressing these issues is crucial in promoting diversity in the industry,” the exchange’s notes concluded. 

 

 

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