US Lawmakers Demand Info on Inclusion and Diversity From Crypto Firms
- Studies have shown that there is a huge gap in inclusion and diversity in most crypto firms.
- Some of the biggest crypto trends are headed by men, with women playing a minor role.
US regulators and lawmakers have been closely monitoring crypto firms and seeking to enforce regulatory policies on the industry. According to new reports, five US lawmakers from the House of Representatives urged 20 top crypto service providers to provide information relating to their inclusion and diversity practices.
Representatives Joyce Beatty, Al Green, Bill Foster, and Stephen Lynch, along with Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, wrote a letter requesting information from American-based cryptocurrency companies on “how and whether the industry is working toward a more equitable environment for everyone.”
The letter was reportedly sent to crypto firms like Tether, Coinbase, Binance US, Crypto.com, Kraken, FTX, Ripple, and others. Top crypto venture capitalists, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Haun Ventures, also received the letters.
The lawmakers wrote,
There is a concerning lack of publicly available data to effectively evaluate the diversity among America’s largest digital assets companies and the investment companies with significant investments in these companies. We believe transparency is a critical, first step to achieving racial and gender equity. That is why your participation in this snapshot is imperative in our efforts to understand how and whether the industry is working toward a more equitable environment for everyone.
According to reports, the lawmakers requested details on policies, diversity, and inclusion data from the crypto companies starting in January 2021. The request appeared to have been triggered by prior investigations from the House Financial Services Committee in 2020 and 2021, which concluded that banks and financial firms had a long way to go in enhancing diversity and inclusion. The representatives asked the 20 firms to submit their responses by September 2.
The Lack of Inclusion and Diversity in Web3
Other reports verify that there is a lack of diversity and inclusion in many crypto companies. Studies have shown that the Web3 space is mostly dominated by men. According to Gemini, women make up just 26 percent of Web3 investors.
Gender imbalance takes different forms in the crypto industry. For example, reports show that the bulk of bitcoin is owned by men, with women making up less than 15% of bitcoin investors. Additionally, some of the biggest NFT marketplaces are also owned by men. NFT artist collective Fame Lady Squad, which promotes female empowerment, is reportedly headed by three male developers.
According to Maryanne Chisholm, a famous NFT Artist, and collector, there is a false perception that tech and Web3 are a male thing. She said,
Perhaps it is because Web3 is believed to have begun with male-led PFP projects. I think there was a presumption that men were more interested in the models for NFT utilities. If you search for the highest sales displayed you will see pages and pages of sales by men. It’s a bit like Las Vegas with all the lights and the bells, inundated with flashy images.
There is a need for increased awareness and education to bring more women to Web3. Also, some of the big Web firms ought to do more to bridge the diversity and inclusion gap.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
