Welcome to our #218 weekly newsletter.
“For women taking control of their financial future”
-Jana Hlistova
From The Purse
Happy New Year! It’s good to be back…
In this week’s newsletter, we focus on the expected SEC approval this week of the first spot bitcoin ETF (US) and revisit research on how engaged women are in crypto.
There continues to be limited data on women investors in crypto. Since 2021 and 2022, we could not find new research on women investing in crypto. However, this is also likely to be the result of the crypto winter and a very difficult year in 2023 due to the fallout from FTX going bankrupt.
Despite this, Bitcoin was the best performing asset class in 2023. And we are now at the start of the next crypto bull run. So will you be investing in crypto? Or are you already a crypto investor? Let us know! Leave a comment below or tweet Janicka or jointhepurse.
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And don’t forget to listen to The Purse Podcast with Nicole Sykes. Nicole leads Pro Bono Economics' communications and influencing work, in addition to overseeing a number of key policy themes in relation to the effectiveness of civil society, philanthropy and relationships between civil society, business and government.
We talk about the Women and the charity sector report. Please enjoy!
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You can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.
Until next week,
Jana
The launch of the spot bitcoin ETF (US) and how engaged are women in crypto investing?
This week, we expect the SEC to approve the first spot bitcoin ETF in the US. So how engaged are women in crypto investing?
This week, we expect the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to finally approve the spot Bitcoin ETF (exchange traded fund) in the US.
Unlike futures contracts, Bitcoin spot ETFs directly hold bitcoin as an underlying asset and track its prices.
It’s fair to say that the crypto community has been waiting for this for years.
Not only does this signal ‘acceptance by Wall Street’ and therefore an imminent influx of institutional money, but it is also a nod to Bitcoin coming of age, despite its volatility.
This carries even more significance as we come out of a long crypto winter. And it follows a series of crypto company bankruptcies, including Sam Bankman Fried’s FTX, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and BlockFi.
But, wait for it: Bitcoin was the best performing asset class in 2023.
According to Charlie Bilello, bitcoin’s annual total returns last year were 156%. Compare this to the US Nasdaq 100, where the annual returns were a 55% or to gold which returned 12.7%.
What is even more impressive: bitcoin has outperformed all asset classes since its inception in 2008.
The crypto bulls predict a big year as we enter the next crypto bull run, this time with the ‘backing’ of asset managers like BlackRock, Van Eck, Ark Invest, Fidelity+ and their spot bitcoin ETF applications.
So how engaged are women in crypto investing?
According to Crypto News, women now represent 30% of crypto owners.
In 2021, Gemini shared research which confirmed that 40% of crypto investors were women. The figure represented a ‘significant shift’ from earlier findings that suggested women in the UK made up around 21%–22% of crypto investors.
Gemini’s research further stated:
Men tended to hold more cryptocurrency than women in categories over £10,000/$13,694 (65.8%) and below £500/$685 (62.1%). However, women made up 53.4% of those holding £1,000–£5,000 ($1,369–$6,847).
There is still so little data on women in crypto, that we will reference more detailed research by the now bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi released in 2022.
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Based on their research, 10% of women chose crypto as their first investment compared to 33% of women investing in retirement funds, as their first point of entry.
For 17% of Millennial women and 11% of Gen Z women, crypto was their first (ever) investment. And even though Gen X women have had more time to enter other asset classes, only 7% invested in crypto as their first investment.
But overall, 25% of women said that they have yet to invest (in any asset class).
Wealth building strategy
BlockFi’s research also found that 1 in 4 women said they are not confident in their wealth-building investment strategy. And less than half (45%) feel financially secure.
The good news is that 1 in 3 women talk about money in their social circles, although this seems more common in younger generations. Gen X and Baby Boomers are less likely to talk about money with their friends.
And while most women have heard about crypto, nearly 81% of women still report crypto to be confusing and 77% view crypto as a risky investment.
Women, bitcoin and the HODL
1 in 5 women regard crypto as a good hedge against inflation. And 20% of Gen Z women see bitcoin as the best long-term investment compared to every other potential asset class. Whilst only 10% of Gen X think the same.
The survey indicates that women regard investing in crypto as a long term investment strategy. And the majority of female crypto owners (69%) said they hold crypto and remain hold-only.
Knowledge and community is key
Women are keen to engage more around money and invest. Research across the board suggests that women want to learn and be educated on how to make their money work for them.
This is less about ‘tactics’ and ‘chasing alpha’ and more about building knowledge and confidence within a community. That is not to say women are not interested in performance. They are, but their approach to money and investing differs to men.
Seek out role models, mentors or likeminded women who share a similar interest in learning about crypto.
Sign up to newsletters (like this one), listen to podcasts and commit to furthering your knowledge on the topic every week.
Or better yet, decide to invest, even if this is £10 or $10 a month.
Once you’re invested, even if this is a small amount, you will start to pay more attention and learn as you go.
What next? Re-read this:
Disclaimer: invest only what you are prepared to lose. Please do your own research or speak to a financial adviser. I invest in BTC, ETH and other altcoins.
News in Brief
Financial news
China's President Xi vows to strengthen economic momentum and deliver on job creation after a disappointing underperforming 2023.
This isn’t how Wall Street hoped to ring in 2024: stocks and bonds fares worst New Year kick-off since 2003.
Bond sell-off continues on pared rate bets with US 10 year yields now back at almost 4%.
Money-market fund assets rise to fresh record $5.965tn. With the UK interest rate sitting at 5%, and many believing this could rise to 6.25%, savers are looking to make the most of this 15-year high rate.
US debt eclipses $34tn for first time roughly three months after the debt first hit $33tn.
US economy adds 216,000 jobs in December (well above the roughly 170,000 jobs economists expected), ending 2023 with a bang.
Eurozone inflation rises to 2.9% after increase in energy costs. December data comes amid speculation over when European Central Bank will cut interest rates.
UK house prices rise again but Halifax forecasts up to 4% drop in 2024. Growth rates driven by shortage of properties on market, says mortgage lender, with typical home worth £287,105.
Mark Zuckerberg sold nearly half a billion dollars of Meta shares in the final 2 months of 2023. The Meta CEO sold shares on every trading day between Nov. 1 and the end of the year, unloading nearly 1.28m shares for $428m.
Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs
The rise of digital gold: in 2012, one ounce of gold was still worth 400 BTC now less than 0.05.
Bitcoin plunged as much as 9% as jitters around the anticipated approval of a spot bitcoin ETF began to enter the market. The slump retraced the entire upside move that occurred on Jan. 1, spurring the liquidation of $500m worth of positions across derivatives exchanges.
BlackRock expects spot Bitcoin ETF approval Wednesday, according toFox Business.
VanEck pledges 5% of bitcoin ETF profits to brink's bitcoin core devs. The firm has already made an initial $10,000 donation to the organisation.
SEC 'implicitly' accepts ETH as commodity, paving way for spot ethereum ETF.
Celsius to unstake ETH holdings for creditors to ‘ensure ample liquidity’ at $466m. The crypto lender filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2022. According to a court filing from last September, about 58,300 users held $210m in what the court categorised as “custody assets.”
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest offloads additional $4m in Coinbase shares. The ETF bought 132,955 shares of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a deal valued at around $1.48m, on the same day. The firm’s ETFs have offloaded over $200m in Coinbase shares over the past few weeks.
Financial advisors are still skeptical SEC approves bitcoin ETF, Bitwise says. Only 39% of 437 financial advisors polled said they think we'll see a Bitcoin ETF available to U.S. investors in 2024.
The Purse Podcast
We cover the following in our conversation:
Report: Women and the charity sector
Why we need more funding of women and girls sectors
Women giving more to the charity sector
How the charity sector will be reshaped by women owning the majority of wealth in the UK in 2025+
Please enjoy! Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify+
Coffee Break? Read This
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and janicka.
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The launch of the spot bitcoin ETF (US) and how engaged are women in crypto investing?