Women of crypto take over Davos WEF

A great number of women decision-makers from varied segments of the crypto industry were present at the WEF, Davos event

By Shashank Bhardwaj

World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting kicks off in Davos, Switzerland on May 23, 2022. Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The recently concluded annual World Economic Forum gathering of decision-makers in Davos, which was held as a five-day summit, was a centre of attraction for many across the globe. But the highlight of the event, as per Irina Berezina, operations lead at UpLift DAO, was the number of women present in the Davos event, which was much higher than similar crypto events in Dubai and Lisbon.

As per Berezina, the Promenade at Davos was overrun by crypto companies, outnumbering the traditional presence in the finance and tech sector, but it was the presence of so many women in senior roles, representing every aspect of the crypto industry that strengthened the conviction of many women out there that the future of the industry is bright.

Berezina avered, “As operations lead of Uplift DAO, a launchpad for innovative crypto community projects, I interact with our community intensely to keep them engaged and reach out to as many as different sectors as possible.”

She finds that a diverse community brings more significant support to new projects, and ensuring that women are well represented is paramount. It's appreciable to see women having integral roles in major projects and taking the lead in this space to inspire the community.

According to estimates, up to 85 percent of the crypto community is male, while in the traditional S&P, this percentage rises to 93.6 percent. Despite this, many surveys and studies lament the low involvement rates of women in the industry. However, a 2019 study by Grayscale bucked the trend and found that 43 percent of investors interested in Bitcoin were female. This number has undoubtedly increased since, in contrast to conventionally traded assets and commodities, crypto assets provide simple and open access to investing.

According to a report published in April 2022, women's involvement increased by over 170 percent in 2021-2022, while men's participation in the crypto sector rose by a lesser 80 percent. Irina also said that women typically made greater initial investments and, despite trading less frequently, had portfolios with more organised strategies and narrower positions. Information and resources have become more readily available to everyone due to widespread community-building initiatives and transparency embedded into project designs, contributing to the evolution and levelling of the financial playing field.

Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash

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