This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 19, 2021 - April 25, 2021

In Malaysia, more women are participating in the cryptocurrency market, thanks to increased awareness about digital asset investing in general. Luno Malaysia, the country’s first digital asset exchange approved by the Securities Commission, revealed that 20% of its user base is female, up from 12% in 2019, with more than 60% of the pool aged between 30 and 39. Also, some 56% of these female investors prefer Bitcoin. 

Scarlett Chai, Luno Malaysia’s marketing and partnerships lead, tells Digital Edge that the average transaction volume of its female users has increased from 6% to 15% of total transactions per month, indicating a positive trend of cryptocurrency investment among female users in Malaysia. This also shows that cryptocurrency is an accepted and established alternative investment option, especially among female investors. 

“When I trust something and am able to put my money in it, it shows that I truly believe in it and it’s not as scary and complicated as it is made out to be,” she says.

Women tend to be conservative investors and a lot more careful when carrying out a risk assessment, but this does not mean that they are not aggressive investors, Chai shares. In fact, she says women investors on Luno’s platform tend to be aggressive in digital assets, and a handful are active traders.

The fact remains, however, that a large number of women are cautious investors who are not aware that investing in digital assets could be one way to achieve financial independence. 

“Financial literacy is somewhat low in the country and women tend to put off learning about cryptocurrencies because it seems to be a complex topic, and thus, they shy away from it. It’s still a foreign concept to some women and there is still a long journey ahead of us to create awareness about cryptocurrency investing,” Chai says.

On Luno, 96% of female users in Malaysia buy cryptocurrencies for investment purposes. They prefer Bitcoin due to its popularity as an alternative store of value. As for the other cryptocurrencies offered by Luno, women favour Ethereum (22%), Ripple (16%) and Litecoin (6%). This data is based on Luno’s female user activity over the past six months. 

Chai says this shows that women tend to choose more established cryptocurrencies as they may feel that these are safer options. This underlines their more risk-averse investment appetite.

Luno’s “buy and hold” feature, which employs a dollar-cost averaging strategy, allows users to invest a fixed amount consistently. This risk-averse feature lets users invest and hold for long-term investing or cash out whenever they feel like it.

Chai says while there is no concrete data on whether more women prefer this feature, the strategy seems appropriate for women investors, especially those who are not price chasers. 

“As a woman myself, I used this feature and sold my assets after a year because the price was good and I gained some earnings out of it. If women traders have the appetite to be aggressive and want to chase short-term profit and volatility, they can choose it as well but, generally, women may favour the ‘buy and hold’ method and we do get enquiries about it.”

The majority of transactional activities are by female users aged 30 to 39 (more than 60%), followed by those aged 50 to 59 (13%) and 40 to 49 (12.4%). However, Chai says that looking at the overall transactional activity regardless of gender, the second most dominant age group are those in their 20s, with a majority of users in this age bracket consisting of men.

Chai believes that women tend to begin their investing journey in their 30s as they may be a lot more stable in terms of their job and lifestyle, as well as have a comfortable amount of disposable income to put aside for alternative investment options. 

However, it would not be accurate to say that women in their 20s are not investing at all, as it depends on external factors such as financial stability and who their peers are. “Women are more calculative and at different points of their life, they have different focuses. Those in their 20s who did invest in cryptocurrencies could have been influenced by their family and friends, which is a good thing,” she says.

“Women still generally prefer conservative investments and we need to continue to provide the right content. They want to be comfortable with what they are investing in and we’re working to establish that trust with them with more public visibility, education and increased awareness.”

Financial literacy in Malaysia is not high, even more so in terms of digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Chai says at Luno Malaysia, they are constantly reaching out to content creators and influencers to educate users on cryptocurrency investing, especially since Bitcoin has been making headlines over the past year.

The educating of women is a bit more niche, says Chai, and Luno is still searching for the right creators to collaborate with as there are limited women-focused influencers who might want to talk about investment and personal finance. This is an important element in Luno’s mission to reach women as they tend to make decisions based on recommendations and reviews.

“Even when it comes to finding a restaurant or making a lifestyle decision like buying clothes, women tend to search for reviews before making a decision. And because of that, we are dedicated to finding the right independent third-party creator to collaborate and produce content that can be relatable to women.”

“For example, if they hear someone talking about Bitcoin, they might make the effort to look it up and read up about it, thus giving them a better understanding of the asset class.”

Organising women-focused talks and webinars is also important. Chai says that Luno had asked women investors whether they would be more comfortable in a women-centric environment with women speakers instead of a mixed-gender environment; many of them said yes.

With that in mind, Luno is also looking to host women-focused financial talks to allow for more comfortable and holistic discussions among potential women investors. “These kinds of things take time as women are more risk-averse and cautious. We just need to continuously provide suitable content to make them feel comfortable, and once they are ready they will come and invest.”

Globally, the number of people owning cryptocurrency stands at less than 2%. Chai says cryptocurrency is still in its infancy and, therefore, anyone who invests in it is considered a pioneer or early adopter. There is also still a misconception that the cryptocurrency investing ship has sailed since the price of one bitcoin is more than RM200,000, with some unaware that they can invest in a small portion of one.

With that in mind, she says women should take the opportunity to educate themselves, invest in cryptocurrencies and not be intimidated by it. “It’s never too late to get started because we’re still in the early stages globally.

“Start small, with as little as RM3 on Luno or any amount you are willing to invest. Just take your time, get acquainted with cryptocurrencies by reading articles and watching videos and when you’re ready, we’re here for you.”

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.