Crypto Quest: Unveiling the Gender Gap in Iceland's Cryptocurrency Ownership and Investment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the variables that are usually considered predictors of participation in the stock market, such as gender, age, education, income, and financial risk attitude, are also useful for predicting participation in the cryptocurrency market. We conducted a unique survey of 1,036 adult participants from Iceland. The results reveal that 8% of the sample has invested in crypto-assets in the past, while the current ownership rate stands at 5%. Being young, male, risk-tolerant, open to new technologies, and perceiving savings in Icelandic banks as less secure was associated with a higher likelihood of crypto-assets investment. Furthermore, we found that higher individual subjective financial knowledge related to cryptocurrencies was is associated with a higher likelihood of owning cryptocurrencies and explains the association between gender and investment in cryptocurrencies.