Crypto investors come from more diverse backgrounds compared to traditional stock investors, University of Chicago finds

The study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago found that of those surveyed who held cryptocurrency,  41% were women and 44% were people of color, however only 38% of women and 35% of people of color stated they held traditional stocks. 

Angela Fontes, a Ph.D. economist at the University of Chicago cited the principal reasons cryptocurrency is finding favour among a female audience, namely due to the perceived accessibility of crypto in comparison to the traditional stock market.

“There’s this whole world of information around the stock market and how to trade [and] what stocks to trade that’s full of terminology that first you need to learn and understand. whereas in crypto, there’s a lot more information at the basic level, because it’s not at the same maturity as traditional stock investing is.”

As well as finding investors in crypto were increasingly likely to be female, researchers also found that investors were younger and came from lower economic backgrounds than traditional stock investors.

The study noted that most investors began investing in cryptocurrency within the last six months, and that most people interviewed received their information through crypto exchanges directly (26 percent) compared to the 2 percent that receive information through an advisor or broker.

 Angela Fontes, vice president in the Economics, Justice, and Society department at NORC commented on the careful balance that needs to be considered before investing in cryptocurrencies:

“Cryptocurrencies are opening up investing opportunities for more diverse investors, which is a very good thing,” says “It will be important that these investors have access to sound information as they make decisions related to these often more volatile investments.”

As previous studies have demonstrated, those who are unlikely to invest in cryptocurrencies state a lack of knowledge as their number one reason. The University of Chicago study found that 62 percent of respondents claimed they did not understand cryptocurrency enough to invest.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.