In a Twitter discussion on Sept. 5, Rosa-Maria Ryyti (Miss Universe Finland 2015 winner), argued Bitcoin's risk factor made it more appealing to men.
She was responding to a query by analyst and Cointelegraph contributor, Filb Filb, who asked followers why the Bitcoin community was overwhelmingly male.
"Women are more risk-conscious in general and often go for a 'slow & steady' investment strategy," Ryyti wrote, adding:
"The current general perception of Bitcoin in the msm makes it even less probable for the average women (and men) to get involved."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/miss-finland-bitcoins-risk-keeps-most-women-away-from-cryptocurrency
(Score: 2) by Kell on Sunday September 08 2019, @01:28PM (4 children)
I'm a woman - I had the chance to invest in bitcoin and I declined. My view on it was that bitcoin carried no innate utility value (like food or fuel or a crate of AK-47s) or fiat value backed by a government, only consensus value - ie. it's worth what other people think it's worth and that's it. That's cool and all, but it means it's ripe for speculation and pumping, which inevitably leads to bubbles. Now, if you ride that train smart and get off at the right station you can do very well, but that's a lot of work and risk. Yes, investment requires risk, innately, and the higher risk generally the higher the reward. But this is risk that is difficult to quantify and it ties up capital that could be put into ventures with a better risk/reward profile.
None of that has anything to do with gender, mine or anyone else's. If you think that maybe I'm more risk-averse than men, well... ok. But thus far I'm in the positive with my investment returns (about 15% on average) and I'm comfortable with that.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 08 2019, @03:15PM (1 child)
What do you think about gold? Doesn't it only have consensus value?
(Score: 2) by Kell on Monday September 09 2019, @12:24AM
Gold is an interesting one because it's consensus value that had historically had very clear scarcity and it had certain utility value that make it a convenient trade token. Those factors together made it useful for governments as a tool which lead to it virtually becoming a fiat currency. There is a complex interaction between governments, gold exploration and market growth that has given gold sustained increases in value over time - not what I'd invest in, but historically it has done well and preserved its value.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday September 08 2019, @07:45PM (1 child)
You basically echoed my entire thought process on the matter, though with a bit less cynicism about the purpose of BC (I personally think it was supposed to be the monetary equivalent of Uber and Lyft, with all the awful things that implies...).
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Kell on Monday September 09 2019, @12:26AM
Cynicism has its place with bitcoin, but I read it as being the product of idealists rather than people exploiting workers. I consider lyft and uber to be utter, utter scum - and as a roboticist, I have even more antipathy for uber.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.