Twice as many Norwegian men as women are willing to invest in digital currencies. This is evidenced by a survey conducted at the University of Agder. According to the survey, 12.5 percent of Norwegian men think about investing in digital currencies. Only 5.6 percent of women think the same. The data also show distinct differences between women and men in terms of financial mastery and financial hubris.
In a new study, researchers at the University of Agder have examined how the population over the age of 18 in Norway views investing in cryptocurrencies. They have looked at investment willingness, how good financial knowledge people have and personality traits. Professor Ellen Katrine Nyhus is behind the new study together with postdoctoral researcher Michał Krzysztof Król, Professor Anders Emil Tobias Otterbring, as well as Darius-Aurel Frank from Aarhus University. The study is published in the US journal Psychology & Marketing, and now reproduced in a recent article in the magazine Research.
In terms of actual investment behaviour, the Agder analysis confirms another survey carried out by EY Norway and K33 in the spring of 2033. According to this survey, which asks about actual ownership, 13% of Norwegian men owned crypto at this time, compared to 4% of women. According to EY/K33's survey, the archetype, i.e. the typical crypto investor, is a man between 20 and 39 who lives urban, i.e. in a city or agglomeration.
In the magazine Forskning's article, which we reproduce the main content of, Ellen Katrine Nyhus elaborates on the clear differences that the survey shows in terms of financial mastery and financial hubris.
“Men scored the highest on their belief in financial mastery. That is, the belief in one's own abilities to make financial choices. The women, to a greater extent, showed financial hubris. That is, they believed more in their financial knowledge than the answers to the knowledge questions in the survey indicated.
In their work, the researchers have been concerned with what psychological mechanisms make people more or less willing to invest in cryptocurrency.
“The second thing that struck us was that we also found clear gender differences related to four of the five personality traits we looked at,” Nyhus told the magazine Forskning.
Men are less social, less sociable and less planned than women—but score higher for emotional stability. Conversely, women are more social, sociable, and more level-headed than men—but score lower on emotional stability. This also aligns with other research on personality traits.
The researchers looked at these answers up against the question of people's willingness to invest in cryptocurrency, writes the magazine Research. It turned out that people who score high on financial hubris — that is, where women score higher — are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies than others.
But at the same time, the findings show that personality traits were also important: Those who have the highest financial mastery beliefs and at the same time score the lowest on personality traits such as sociability and agreeableness are more positive about investing in cryptocurrencies than others. It is gladly men.
The magazine Forskning further writes: From a gender perspective, the research thus suggests that crypto has failed to influence or change traditional gender patterns and stereotypes in the financial investment industry.
“Our findings also suggest that women may need additional persuasion or education about the benefits and risks of crypto, before considering investing in this type of currency,” Nyhus says.
She also points out that these are areas of action that companies and marketers in the crypto industry should consider when conducting future marketing efforts.
“It can also be important knowledge for those who are supposed to regulate financial markets and protect vulnerable consumers,” she says.
We do not know at what point the Agder survey has been conducted, but much can indicate that it has been carried out during the crypto winters of the last two years. In the same period, many Norwegian retail investors have abandoned crypto. The EY/K33 survey, which has been conducted regularly over several years, shows that in spring 2023 there was a significant drop in Norwegians' crypto investments compared to the previous year. In total, the number of Norwegians who own crypto had decreased from 420,000 in 2022 to 345,000 in 2023. Over the same period, the share of investment among men decreased from 10 to 8%, and among women from 6 to 4%.
In the EY/K33 survey, participants were also asked about their future investment plans in relation to crypto. The answer here was that 23% of respondents believed that they would get to invest in crypto within the next 10 years. That, in the event, would mean that by 2033 there will be more than 1 million Norwegians owning crypto.
Why don't women invest in cryptocurrency as much as men? The magazine Research, January 2024.
Générale diferencias en intenciones de investimento crypto-e o ruoli mediante de superconfianza financiera e personalidad, Psychology & Marketing, October 2023
Norwegian Crypto Adoption Survey 2023, K33 and EY, Abril 2023
Twice as many Norwegian men as women are willing to invest in digital currencies. This is evidenced by a survey conducted at the University of Agder. According to the survey, 12.5 percent of Norwegian men think about investing in digital currencies. Only 5.6 percent of women think the same. The data also show distinct differences between women and men in terms of financial mastery and financial hubris.
In a new study, researchers at the University of Agder have examined how the population over the age of 18 in Norway views investing in cryptocurrencies. They have looked at investment willingness, how good financial knowledge people have and personality traits. Professor Ellen Katrine Nyhus is behind the new study together with postdoctoral researcher Michał Krzysztof Król, Professor Anders Emil Tobias Otterbring, as well as Darius-Aurel Frank from Aarhus University. The study is published in the US journal Psychology & Marketing, and now reproduced in a recent article in the magazine Research.
In terms of actual investment behaviour, the Agder analysis confirms another survey carried out by EY Norway and K33 in the spring of 2033. According to this survey, which asks about actual ownership, 13% of Norwegian men owned crypto at this time, compared to 4% of women. According to EY/K33's survey, the archetype, i.e. the typical crypto investor, is a man between 20 and 39 who lives urban, i.e. in a city or agglomeration.
In the magazine Forskning's article, which we reproduce the main content of, Ellen Katrine Nyhus elaborates on the clear differences that the survey shows in terms of financial mastery and financial hubris.
“Men scored the highest on their belief in financial mastery. That is, the belief in one's own abilities to make financial choices. The women, to a greater extent, showed financial hubris. That is, they believed more in their financial knowledge than the answers to the knowledge questions in the survey indicated.
In their work, the researchers have been concerned with what psychological mechanisms make people more or less willing to invest in cryptocurrency.
“The second thing that struck us was that we also found clear gender differences related to four of the five personality traits we looked at,” Nyhus told the magazine Forskning.
Men are less social, less sociable and less planned than women—but score higher for emotional stability. Conversely, women are more social, sociable, and more level-headed than men—but score lower on emotional stability. This also aligns with other research on personality traits.
The researchers looked at these answers up against the question of people's willingness to invest in cryptocurrency, writes the magazine Research. It turned out that people who score high on financial hubris — that is, where women score higher — are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies than others.
But at the same time, the findings show that personality traits were also important: Those who have the highest financial mastery beliefs and at the same time score the lowest on personality traits such as sociability and agreeableness are more positive about investing in cryptocurrencies than others. It is gladly men.
The magazine Forskning further writes: From a gender perspective, the research thus suggests that crypto has failed to influence or change traditional gender patterns and stereotypes in the financial investment industry.
“Our findings also suggest that women may need additional persuasion or education about the benefits and risks of crypto, before considering investing in this type of currency,” Nyhus says.
She also points out that these are areas of action that companies and marketers in the crypto industry should consider when conducting future marketing efforts.
“It can also be important knowledge for those who are supposed to regulate financial markets and protect vulnerable consumers,” she says.
We do not know at what point the Agder survey has been conducted, but much can indicate that it has been carried out during the crypto winters of the last two years. In the same period, many Norwegian retail investors have abandoned crypto. The EY/K33 survey, which has been conducted regularly over several years, shows that in spring 2023 there was a significant drop in Norwegians' crypto investments compared to the previous year. In total, the number of Norwegians who own crypto had decreased from 420,000 in 2022 to 345,000 in 2023. Over the same period, the share of investment among men decreased from 10 to 8%, and among women from 6 to 4%.
In the EY/K33 survey, participants were also asked about their future investment plans in relation to crypto. The answer here was that 23% of respondents believed that they would get to invest in crypto within the next 10 years. That, in the event, would mean that by 2033 there will be more than 1 million Norwegians owning crypto.
Why don't women invest in cryptocurrency as much as men? The magazine Research, January 2024.
Générale diferencias en intenciones de investimento crypto-e o ruoli mediante de superconfianza financiera e personalidad, Psychology & Marketing, October 2023
Norwegian Crypto Adoption Survey 2023, K33 and EY, Abril 2023
