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Crypto Moms: A Year Of Crypto Gender Equality

Last Updated March 30, 2023 6:48 AM
Justin OConnell
Last Updated March 30, 2023 6:48 AM

The American bitcoin forum for women, Crypto Moms , has celebrated its first anniversary, celebrating success over a year of promoting cryptocurrency.

Launched in April 2014, Crypto Moms’ mission is to increase women’s participation in cryptocurrency.

The Crypto Moms’ website features a bustling forum, blog posts, and the team runs a Twitter  account.

Cryptocoins News sat down with Rocky DeLucenay of Crypto Moms to discuss the last year, the present and the future of women and cryptocurrency.

Congratulations on your first anniversary!  

Thank you, we appreciate the anniversary wishes.

What has the last year been like for Crypto Moms?

Similar to starting any new business or venture the first year is always challenging.  Crypto Moms was no exception. We are very fortunate to have a strong and dedicated community with amazing support and leadership from the DNotes team. The subject was well researched to confirm that there was a gender imbalance problem and that it would be important for the industry to address that issue.

Defining Crypto Moms mission was no easy task in view of the predominantly hostile environment and bad behavior which has not been too enticing to women. We concluded that to be successful we had to make a bold move promoting an inclusive environment of mutual trust and respect leading to a cultural change that is more conducive in attracting women’s participation.

We decided to build a currency neutral site for other coins to participate, promoting their products and services for free. Many have used our platform successfully and graciously and have assisted and shared their knowledge with new members. Together we have built a well respected and increasingly popular site packed with helpful instructions and educational contents. As intended, it is attracting support and participation from a broad based constituent beyond just Moms. With over 6,000 registered members and growing, it has indeed been a great year.

Can you paint a picture of the gender gap in Bitcoin for those who might not be familiar with the community, and why you think it exists?

The gender gap in Bitcoin is overwhelming. When we first got involved most industry reports indicated a male to female ratio of 95:5. There has been some improvement but no more than a couple of points. Now that we have a solid foundation we are looking at various options to make a significant difference by our second anniversary.

Women’s participation in the Bitcoin space has been well recognized by the industry as a shortcoming, though viable efforts to correct the imbalance have been lacking. Early adopters of Bitcoin were predominantly younger white males with strong liberal political persuasion but that should not have kept most of the females from participating.

I believe that it is case of “young men behaving badly” in the way they communicate at almost all forums across the board.  That has to be the greatest deterrent to women’s participation in the digital currency space. It will take a bold move of a cultural change from one that is hostile and destructive to one of mutual trust and respect.

Crypto Moms has been leading the charge and will continue to add other programs that are meaningful and beneficial to women. We want to provide a platform where all women feel comfortable.  Many times we hear “This may be a dumb question”. We feel there are no dumb questions but if it were asked in a different forum they may be chastised for ridiculed for asking the question. Making everyone feel welcome whether they are seasoned in crypto-currency or not is one of the main goals of the site.

Can Bitcoin help women become more involved in their finances?

We certainly believe so, especially in light of the fact that there is an increasing number of single Moms saddled with stagnant pay and slow job growth. Saving for retirement and children’s education are elusive dreams for most Moms or single women when it comes to retirement. In most cases, there is little left to be saved; to the point of such high stress and discouragement they just give up on the idea of setting anything aside for long term savings. Digital currency, being at its infancy has the potential of high returns. A small amount saved on a regular basis could hugely supplement education and retirement funds, which otherwise would be impossible.

At Crypto Moms we are making very dedicated efforts to encourage women to get more involved in digital currency to manage their financial future. We created the first Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan for Kids  (CRISP For Kids) Even though it was launched just a few months ago, over 100 children, including a few unborn have already signed up for this program with savings as high as  $1,555.

A retirement savings account has also been added for Moms and anyone else interested in saving to supplement their retirement using digital currency. We plan to offer various opportunities in the future where Moms can earn some extra income for their long term savings.

Some surveys find that, in many households, women already sign-off on much of the spending. Can Bitcoin democratize the household spending process?

Becoming involved with finances and spending or not spending is not going to be determined by Bitcoin or any other method of  payment. This is a personal choice of those in the household no matter what the form of payment is.

Why has Crypto Moms evolved from its mission to increase women’s participation in cryptocurrency into more of a mission to increase everyone’s participation?

Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology is considered by a number of industry visionaries, including Crypto Moms’ Co-Founder Alan Young, as the greatest technology revolution since the Internet.

Although this will lead to waves of massive job and wealth creation there are significant challenges the industry must overcome to allow for earlier mass consumer and mass merchant adoption. Of major significance is women’s participation. As a group, they control the majority of the consumer purchasing power worldwide. With an increasing number of single Moms they are also a huge influence in the future of their children’s education as well as their savings and spending habits. Moms and women in general can influence the next generations and we feel savings is of great importance.

Now that Crypto Moms has clearly demonstrated that it has established an effective platform to encourage and increase women’s participation it is expanding its mission to include the immediate family. By sponsoring a family of CRISPs, grand parents are beginning to show up to support their grandchildren promoting even more common ground for everyone and doing so in a positive manner.

Crypto Moms is in the final stages of co-sponsoring several plans to encourage women who are small business owners to take advantage of the low transaction cost using digital currency as a form of payment. Central to its success is a stable digital currency such as DNotes which will be launching a CRISP For Employee Benefits Savings Plan.

How has your branding marketed towards women perhaps more than a unisex brand might?

Most missions evolve over a period of time to overcome new challenges and realities as well as to participate in new opportunities and partnership. Being a currency neutral site it has attracted a fairly balanced participation of both women and men. Crypto Moms is leading the charge in promoting a new culture of mutual respect and cooperation badly needed for Bitcoin to regain it reputation. In that sense, we maintain the focus on women with unisex support.

Who do Crypto Moms consider to be some of the most successful women in the Bitcoin industry?

Perianne Boring, Founder and President of Chamber of Digital Commerce, is our top pick, followed by Pamela Morgan who just launched “Third Key Solutions.” Another is Connie Gallippi of BitGive Foundation – she could be a rising star as well.

Why is Crypto Moms following Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign?

Rand Paul may or may not be the best candidate to be the next President of the United States, but if he won the election he could be the best thing that could happen to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is an innovative technology way ahead of regulations. A more favorable regulatory environment will be a driver to earlier mass acceptance.  He is a public figure talking about and using Bitcoin as a way of funding.  He is thus getting recognition in the digital currency arena.

Thank you for sitting down with us!

My pleasure. Thank you for having us.