Author: Lawyer Niu Xiaojing
The reason I chose to explore this topic is because I was attracted by the survey data.
This survey from Bitpanda shows that women have a unique style in cryptocurrency investment, which makes me start to think about a question: In our usual perception, successful investors seem to be mostly men, but is this just the "success bias" at work? The base of male investors is huge, and successful cases are naturally easier to enter our field of vision. Are female investors underestimated because of their small number?
According to a report by Cointelegraph in March 2025 (citing data from Bitget CEO Gracy Chen), women account for about 26% of cryptocurrency holders worldwide, accounting for about a quarter of the total investment population. Based on data from multiple sources, the proportion of women in the cryptocurrency investment field fluctuates roughly between 20% and 35% . Although the proportion of female investors is not high, their performance may be better than we think.
Why do men lose more?
Brad M. Barber of the University of California, Davis, and Terrance Odean of the University of California, Berkeley, published a classic paper, “Boys Will Be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment,” in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in 2001. They analyzed the trading data of more than 35,000 household accounts of a large U.S. discount brokerage firm (from February 1991 to January 1997), split investors by gender, and came to a thought-provoking conclusion: men generally lose more than women .
The study found that male investors trade much more frequently than female investors , with an average annual trading volume 45% higher than that of female investors. This high-frequency trading is considered a manifestation of overconfidence - men tend to believe that they can accurately predict market trends. However, frequent trading not only increases costs such as commissions, but also easily leads to buying and selling at the wrong time. The data shows that the net return of men decreases by 2.65 percentage points each year due to trading, while that of women only decreases by 1.72 percentage points. Overall, men's losses due to overconfidence and high-frequency operations are significantly more serious.
Male investors seem to be more keen on chasing "exciting" assets, such as volatile cryptocurrencies (DeFi tokens or newly listed ICO projects), and pursuing high returns through short-term trading. This "diligence" requires a lot of time and energy, but the results are often counterproductive.
Why might women earn more?
In contrast, female investors’ strategies appear to be more cautious and robust. They trade less frequently and prefer to “buy and hold,” which not only reduces transaction costs but also avoids losses due to misjudgment of market fluctuations. Here are some key characteristics of female investors:
Lower risk appetite Psychological and financial behavioral research shows that women tend to be more risk-averse when faced with uncertainty. For example, a 2015 study in the American Economic Review found that women prefer certain returns, while men are willing to take risks in pursuit of high returns. Pursuing a “peace of mind” strategy According to a Bitpanda survey, 50% of female cryptocurrency investors prioritize long-term financial growth, 49% hold assets for up to five years, and 39% plan to hold for more than five years. This "set and forget" long-term holding strategy eliminates the hassle of frequent market monitoring and is both simple and practical. Favoring stable assets In traditional financial markets, women are more inclined to invest in blue-chip stocks or bonds rather than high-risk small-cap stocks or derivatives. In the field of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and Ethereum are favored by women as "blue-chip stocks in the crypto market" (54% of women choose these assets for their first investment). This choice reduces the frequency of operations and the psychological pressure caused by market fluctuations.
The reason behind
Why do women prefer this conservative style? Several factors are worth noting:
Lack of knowledge and experience The Bitpanda survey pointed out that 81% of women admitted to lacking investment experience, and 24% believed that lack of knowledge was the biggest challenge. For this reason, they prefer to choose assets that are easy to understand and do not require complex operations (such as Bitcoin) to reduce the burden of decision-making. Social and cultural influences Traditionally, women may have more financial security responsibilities in the family (such as saving or ensuring children's education), which prompts them to prioritize stability in investment rather than taking risks in pursuit of high returns. In contrast, men may be more inclined to demonstrate their ability or pursue wealth growth through high-risk investments. Differences in psychological styles Men are more likely to trade frequently or choose high-risk assets due to overconfidence, while women are less likely to show this tendency. They are more willing to admit their limitations, choose stable assets, and avoid unnecessary losses and stress.
Advantages of “Circle of Competence”
Buffett once proposed the concept of "circle of competence":
The key to profitable investment is to recognize the scope of your own capabilities and focus on areas you understand.
Female investors seem to have an advantage in this regard - they have a clearer understanding of their own position and know that they are not omnipotent, so they choose assets that they can understand and adopt a long-term holding strategy. Men tend to overestimate their research capabilities and think of themselves as "investment geniuses", but end up deviating from their circle of competence in a series of "sexy operations", and losses become a high probability event.
Interesting addition: Married men perform better?
Another interesting finding is that married men tend to make better investment decisions than single men. The reason may be that "there is a wife to look after them", and the impulse of overconfidence is restrained by family responsibilities or rational advice from their partners. This may also indirectly confirm the value of a conservative style.
Conclusion: The “simple” philosophy in investment
Investing is a skill, but its results are full of uncertainty. We often ignore the common mistakes we make in investing, such as overconfidence or deviation from the circle of competence. The secret to the success of female investors may not be how superb their skills are, but that they pay more attention to stability and simplicity - choosing worry-free and stable assets and focusing on long-term growth. This strategy is particularly valuable in the uncertain cryptocurrency market.
Therefore, next time you invest, you might as well let your "wife check it" - whether it is a literal or metaphorical "wife", a rational and stable perspective may be the key to profit.
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