MAnu, a 32-year-old from Panchkula, took on the nightly chores: cooking, serving dinner and putting her baby to bed.
When she was done, she left her bedroom, turned on her laptop, and entered a secret world of unspeakable words.
Shiba Inu, Battle Infinity, Lucky Block, Stellar Lumens, Ethereum, Terra, Dogecoin, Trumpcoin, Bitcoin. She was looking at a live cryptocurrency chart.
It is not just men wearing suits in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurugram who are interested in cryptocurrencies. Women are also now doing crypto trading in small towns of India.
“Mom looks at the graph on her phone,” her two-and-a-half-year-old is beginning to say. That’s because she can’t look away from crypto charts and graphs, Manu said.
While Manu is new to the world of crypto and blockchain, she started trading equities and options when she was pregnant.
Cryptocurrency, although marketed and promised as a democratic, decentralized tool to control money without a middleman, has so far been stereotyped as something for “tech brothers”. But women are carving their own niche: There are many crypto exchanges registered in India giant spikes in percentage of female users, especially in smaller cities.
It signifies wealth and mobility in their hands, and a willingness to take risks as never before. The astronomical numbers may reflect an earlier absence of women on these platforms – but it also indicates that more women in smaller towns are taking a step toward financial independence and dignity. Popular Indian crypto exchange WazirX has a user base of 10 million, of which 15% are women. sharekhan Estimate 20% of the active traders in the traditional market are women.
“Women who want to learn about cryptocurrency mostly stop working because of their family or children, or who have been housewives all their lives,” said Shraddha Nunchhil, who runs Money Magnet, a Ludhiana-based financial services company. who teaches trading.
“Women figure things out quicker than men. Risk management and money management is something we don’t need to work on with women – because they’re already aware of it,” Nunchhill said.
Read also: Cryptocurrency isn’t just influencing the markets. Regulators need to crack down on its pollution
what does a woman want
One of the most attractive things about the crypto market is that it operates 24/7. Women can log in to do business at any time—freeing them from having to choose between doing business and managing their household duties.
“I usually do business at night when it is empty,” says Shreya (name changed), a former banker who lives with her 1.5-year-old daughter in Lucknow.
It is also a way for women to earn money at home. The pandemic forced 28-year-old Arsh, who worked as a laboratory assistant researching plant diseases, to move away.
“In India, my friends don’t really believe in crypto. They don’t think I will make much money, but the truth is I am earning 5-6% returns while trading at home,” said Arsh, who Moved to Canada with her fiancé.
According to Arsh, learning about crypto was almost like a rite of passage to better fit in in Canada. Several of her fiancée’s friends and their wives in Canada are “into cryptocurrency”, and Arsh hopes to be able to discuss things with them. “But they are all in investing, not trading… Still, they may need my technical analysis,” she said.
She learned about Elon Musk from her fiancé, who she said now takes her financial advice. “I think I’ll fit in better in Canada,” she said. “They talk about crypto as a source of passive income, so it’s something I definitely see myself doing, even if I start working.”
Crypto also helps bring financial dignity to women. Lisi (name changed), who now works in Bengaluru, is educating her family about cryptocurrencies in the town of Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. “My people are housewives and are innately good at managing money, but avoid taking big risks,” she said, adding that her aunt is now choosing the right coins to invest instead of continuing with her traditional savings. have been
“They now talk about crypto within their circle, and especially those at risk in the city—they can talk to their equals and keep their own,” Lisi said. “Now they all have their own crypto wallets.”
Read also: Here are 11 trading tips you need to know
crypto culture
The world of cryptocurrency comes with its own set of cultural rules.
The highly volatile market could become unbalanced with a tweet from billionaire Elon Musk, and new meme coins regularly jokingly go from being highly profitable. This is why cryptocurrency is often seen as a male-dominated space reserved for men with specific internet cultural knowledge. But this is changing, and rapidly.
“Crypto is a democratic asset class and promotes financial inclusion, and the increasing participation of women is a positive and encouraging development,” said Nairn Ahmed of WazirX, one of India’s leading crypto exchanges. “Many millennials, both men and women, have chosen crypto as their first investment.”
WazirX saw a 2648% increase in user signups from Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India. “In fact, (in)cities have driven about 55% of the total user signups on WazirX in 2021, overtaking Tier-I cities, exhibiting a signup growth of 2375%. Women from these (Tier-II and Tier-III) sectors contribute to 65% of the total signups,” said Ahmed.
For CoinDCX, their 35% user base Comes from metros like Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. But 65 per cent comes from cities like Jaipur, Patna and Lucknow.
More than 7% of all Indians own some form of crypto, According to Recent United Nations Trade and Development Report. But the lack of clarity about regulation is a cause for concern. The proposed crypto bill of the Indian government is yet to be introduced, and reportedly aims to ban all cryptocurrencies as a method of payment in India – except for a select few private coins. It also allows the Reserve Bank of India to establish an official digital currency – the Central Bank Digital Currency.
Cryptocurrencies Are a “Clear Threat” According to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. According to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, RBI wants cryptocurrencies to be banned.
Also, banning crypto completely would require international cooperation, According to Sitharaman. It doesn’t help that Indian exchanges themselves are under regulatory spotlight – ED is investigating Crypto firms such as WazirX and CoinSwitch Kuber for violating the Money Laundering and Foreign Exchange Management Act.
Read also: Crypto mining can retire fossil fuels for good. Renewable energy projects are the future
teaching trading
Manu was entering a basic observation session after putting her child to bed.
She was one of four women – and two men – taking classes with Shraddha and the money magnate. The groups met on Monday at 8:30 pm and went straight to business. They were learning how to track crypto trends.
Shraddha taught for only 20 minutes. The rest of the session was reserved for questions from his students. Usually, her male students talk about the women in her class. But the first three questions that day were from Manu and two other women. Only the male student of Shraddha managed to suppress his question.
Confidence still took time – some of the questions were temporary, with his student testing the waters with phrases like “Sorry if this is a silly question.” But Shraddha responds promptly and with complete confidence. “I have seen the confidence of my girl students grow through the course. In this current scenario, all my students are comfortable and excited to learn,” she said.
In fact, Shraddha only added modules on cryptocurrencies to her curriculum due to the growing interest among her students. “Women in the Indian market generally stick to safer options in the long run, but there is something about crypto and the buzz around it. Of course you have to understand the risk first and learn to control your emotions,” she said. The volatility of crypto got her excited, but she didn’t expect it to excite so many women in small towns in India.
“Yes, crypto is scary, there is no upper or lower limit like the stock market. It is risky, but I do not go much with it,” said one of her students. She opened her demat account with her father-in-law, and They both trade in the traditional market together. He is grateful for his company, but he is not sure he will understand crypto. “It’s like overnight magic for women like me.”
(edited by Prashant)
This article is the first in the Tracking Cryptonomy series. Read all articles here.