Gender gap in the ownership and use of cryptocurrencies: Empirical evidence from Spain

Abstract

Over the last few years, the holding and use of cryptocurrencies, as well as the entire ecosystem of decentralised finance (DeFi), has become popular worldwide. However, their acceptance and use are not equal for various reasons; and it is important to know these limiting reasons. There is a gender gap in the acceptance and use of so-called decentralised finance (DeFi), where females have much lower acceptance and usage rates than men. Our study has focused on analysing why this situation occurs. A structured questionnaire was used, including age, level of education and gender, as well as closed-ended questions and questions with respondent ratings (Likert scale). Replicating the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model, applied in this case to the study on the use and acceptance of cryptocurrencies by females. This has allowed us to generate a sample of 326 people living in Spain, 168 of whom are females. We obtained as a result that the barriers that limit the acceptance and use of cryptocurrencies by females are several: The lack of investment experience in traditional assets, the general lack of knowledge on the part of females about cryptocurrencies; as well as concepts such as blockchain, how to carry out transactions or what an exchange is and how it works. Also, the fact that cryptocurrencies do not inspire any security in females and risk aversion. In contrast, we found no evidence that females do not accept or use cryptocurrencies due to a lack of trust in traditional money, pressure from social media and influencers, fear of not doing the same as the next guy or speculation, which are mostly present in the motivation of males. Nor do we find that income or lack of digital skills among females are barriers to entry.