San Francisco Emerges As #1 City for Women in Crypto

Cryptocurrency may be heralded as a new form of finance for everyone, but spend more than five minutes in the space and one thing becomes clear: the cryptocurrency space is heavily dominated by white men.

Research from Pew Research Centre, for example, found that in the US, men were twice as likely to say they had used a cryptocurrency than women. And while efforts have been made to include women and other minorities in the space - from the My BFF platform to the Women in Blockchain initiative - location can still be a huge driver for how accessible this sector of the online world is to women.

Here, BanklessTimes.com has rounded up five of the top cities around the world for women in cryptocurrency, looking at factors such as the cost of living, ease of doing business, global gender gap, and crypto adoption.

Ranking factors:

• Cost of living and quality of life scores were sourced from Numbeo.com to reflect the overall quality and expense of each city in the ranking.

• Ease of doing business scores were sourced from doingbusiness.org

• Global Gender Gap ranking from WeForum

• Crypto Ownership data sourced from TripleA

• Bitcoin ATM data sourced from Coin ATM Radar

• Women-specific crypto events were sourced from Eventbrite - this data may not be completely accurate so should be used as a rough guide.

• Crypto companies and employee numbers were sourced from LinkedIn, and the estimated number of women were calculated using the finding that approximately 26.5% of people working in crypto are women.

Best Cities for Women In Crypto

Below is the ultimate ranking for best cities for women in crypto, from best to worst (although it should be noted, all cities ranked below are considered key locations for anyone interested in the growing crypto and blockchain sector).

1. San Francisco

San Francisco is frequently listed as a desirable location for the crypto industry as a whole due to its strong tech industry, proximity to Silicon Valley, and progressive regulatory environment. The city has a deep talent pool of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs, and is home to. As a result, many blockchain and crypto companies have chosen to establish their headquarters or open offices in San Francisco, contributing to the city's reputation as a hub for innovative technology companies.

San Francisco comes out as the number one city for women in crypto overall according to our index. Despite having less women working in crypto than other cities considered, the city scores top marks for crypto ownership and overall quality of life, as well as scoring high for ease of doing business.

2. Singapore

Singapore ranks as the second best city for women in crypto. It’s a popular location for the crypto industry due to its favourable regulatory environment, strong financial infrastructure, skilled workforce, and business-friendly environment.

The country has clear guidelines and regulations for companies operating in the space, which has built trust and confidence in the industry. Additionally, Singapore has a well-developed financial ecosystem (scoring 2nd in the world for ease of doing business) with many investors and banks interested in funding crypto startups. These factors have established Singapore as a key hub for the crypto industry in Asia.

There are an estimated 1484 women working in crypto in Singapore, and almost 1,000 crypto companies based here, making Singapore a prime location for women in crypto.

3. London

London is a major hub for the crypto industry due to its world-class financial infrastructure, innovative tech ecosystem, and supportive regulatory environment. The city has the highest concentration of crypto companies overall (1,800) and crypto events related to women.

Additionally, London scores third in our ranking for cost of living, quality of life, and ease of doing business.

4. Berlin

Berlin is an emerging hub for the crypto industry in Europe, with a vibrant tech community and a progressive regulatory environment. The city has a strong startup culture and is home to over 200 crypto companies, with many entrepreneurs and investors attracted to the city's low cost of living and high quality of life. In our ranking, Berlin scores highest for both cost of living and gender rap ranking, making this a favourable place-to-be for women looking to enter the crypto sphere.

Additionally, Germany has taken a proactive approach to regulating crypto, providing clarity and stability for companies operating in the space. Germany scores 22nd in the world for ease of doing business, and has an approximate crypto ownership of 4.2%.

5. Toronto

Toronto is known for having a supportive regulatory environment and a strong tech industry. The city is home to many startups and venture capital firms - with 360 crypto companies and an estimated 2,400 people working in the crypto space, and has a highly educated workforce with expertise in blockchain technology. Additionally, Canada's clear guidelines and regulations for crypto companies provide stability and attract investors and entrepreneurs to the city.

Canada scored 25th on the Global Gender Gap Index, and 23rd overall on the ease of doing business rank. Another perk to living in Toronto, compared to other cities on this list, is the low cost of living.

6. Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is a growing centre for the crypto industry, with a highly educated workforce and a supportive regulatory environment. The city is home to almost 200 crypto companies to date, with a culture that encourages entrepreneurship and risk-taking.

Israel has also taken a proactive approach to regulating crypto, with clear guidelines and regulations in place for companies operating in the space. Additionally, Tel Aviv is known for its strong tech industry and access to funding, making it an attractive destination for blockchain and crypto companies looking to establish a presence in the Middle East. For women in crypto specifically, however, Tel Aviv scores last in the city ranking. The country has the lowest overall ranking in the Global Gender Index and the fewest women estimated to be working in the crypto space.

There are still significant gender gaps in the crypto space in 2023, and as the this industry continues to gain momentum as it enters the mainstream, it’s key that the cities providing the most opportunities for women to flourish within the sector are highlighted and used as examples for the rest of the globe.

Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes.com

Methodology

To create the overall score calculation, we first standardised the values for each of the four data points ("Cost of Living", "Ease of Doing Business", "Gender Gap Rank", and "Quality of Life") so that they were on the same scale. We then added these standardised values together, giving equal weight to each data point. Finally, we scaled the resulting sum so that it fell between 0 and 100, to make it easier to compare across cities.

The columns that were not factored into the score are "Bitcoin ATMs", "Crypto Ownership %", "Crypto Events", "Crypto Companies", "People Working in Crypto", and "Estimated Women Working in Crypto". These columns provide additional information on the crypto industry in each city, but were not included in the overall score calculation to rank the cities above.

Best Cities for Women in Crypto: Full Index