Cryptocurrency experts said a lack of technical knowledge may be why women do not invest in the industry, and more inclusive promotion was needed.
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Women may not be investing in cryptocurrencies due to a lack of technical knowledge, attendees of a Coinmotion-organized International Women's Day meeting of women in the crypto industry suggested.
New data from investment platform eToro said only 15% of bitcoin traders were women, up 5 points from last year.
However, the platform reported women were joining at a faster rate than men in December, with a 366% rise in sign-ups compared to 248% for men.
CEO and board member of Coinmotion Oy, Heidi Hurskainen, said women often wanted to understand everything about an asset before investing and so it was important to increase technical knowledge.
"The number of women investing has been increasing over the last few years," she said. "I think the problem here is a fear of overly technical matters."
Director of Observatorio Blockchain Covadonga Fernández stressed the importance of including women in blockchain-related photos, which were usually dominated by men.
"In Spain, both men and women don't have a particularly developed financial education at an individual level," Fernández explained. "I think there is no awareness that we lack financial education. We should start in schools."
Participants of the meeting also highlighted the power of cryptocurrency in countries where large proportions of the population did not have bank accounts.
CSO and founder of EthicHub Gabriela Chang said half of Mexico's population did not have bank accounts and this greatly increased the amount of interest payable if they wanted to use banks.
"We have to stop seeing economic inclusion as charity," Chang said. "We are talking about a tremendous potential for mutual benefit." She said in countries such as Venezuela where the value of the local currency has depreciated, access to an "alternative economic system" was key.
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CEO of Alastria Blockchain Ecosystem Montse Guardia said it was important for women to be able to write code and highlighted the misogyny still rampant in the industry.
"It is a field where there is still an unbalanced majority, there is no gender diversity," she said.
The women offered solutions for female empowerment within the industry, with Chang suggesting that women's projects be given priority while Hurskinaen underlined the importance of women networking and supporting each other.
Hurskinaen said that interest in tokens was growing rapidly and that there was "a shift in that direction" with many companies entering the sector.
However, she said the shift was more pronounced in the US than in Europe.
From crypto albums to digital artwork, the trend is growing. Musician Grimes, whose boyfriend is bitcoin fanatic Elon Musk, made $5.8 million in less than 20 minutes by selling crypto-based artwork.
Major companies including Tesla and Mastercard said earlier this year that they would support bitcoin as a form of payment and this has led to a rise in its price.
"Regulation is really the basis of the problems," Hurskinaen added, suggesting that an absence of clear regulation made it difficult for companies to collaborate with banks.
