One trusted conversation beats a thousand ads.

Crypto Women Collective today published The Human Side of Crypto, its first annual Crypto Adoption Index. The study moves past account and wallet counts to ask a different question: what actually shapes how people discover crypto, decide about it and feel while taking part. It draws on more than 250 responses from women and men, primarily in the Netherlands, the country where Crypto Women Collective was founded and a market the large international studies tend to leave out.

The headline finding cuts against how the industry usually markets itself. Among people who have never owned crypto, 60% say a recommendation from someone they trust would help them take a first step, against just 2% for mainstream media. Clearer regulation, often cited as the key to bringing new investors in, would help only 21%, nearly three times fewer than a trusted person. Coverage and commentary still shape how crypto is understood. What the data shows is that the decision to act usually turns on a conversation with someone you trust.

Trust travels through people, not through advertising or rules.

"We built this study because we did not want to guess what people need to find their place in crypto. We wanted to ask them," said Lisanne Drost, co-founder of Crypto Women Collective. "And it is just as clear that curiosity does not have to end in a purchase. Our aim is better-informed decisions, whichever way they go."

The report is organized around three themes: curiosity, participation and belonging. Several findings stand out.

Most people outside crypto are not saying no

Only a quarter of those who have never owned crypto, 25%, say they are not interested. The rest are open to it, and many say they need the right support first. Women most often ask for beginner education without jargon, at 63%.

Knowledge does not equal confidence

Among owners who rate their own knowledge as good or very good, 74% of women feel confident making their own decisions, against 97% of men. Learning and reassurance stay relevant long after a first purchase.

The talent is here, the visibility is not

Half of the women who own crypto, 51%, have felt the industry was not designed for someone like them. Of the 55 women owners asked about sharing their expertise publicly, almost a third, 31% or 17 people, would like to but have never been invited. Among the 27 men asked, just one said the same.

"These are not problems you fix with another campaign," said Laura Peijs, co-founder of Crypto Women Collective. "They are about who people see, who they trust and whether they feel there is a place for them. Representation decides whose expertise gets recognized, and what everyone else assumes the industry looks like."

An agenda, not a case for faster adoption

Crypto Women Collective frames the findings as an agenda for the wider industry rather than a case for faster adoption. The report calls on platforms, educators, employers and event organizers to bring education into places people already trust, to design for different levels of experience and confidence, and to invite the experts who are waiting to be asked.

The Human Side of Crypto: Crypto Adoption Index 2026 is available to download. Crypto Women Collective will repeat the research each year.

About Crypto Women Collective

Crypto Women Collective is a platform working to make the crypto and digital assets industry more accessible, connected and visible, with a particular focus on opportunities for women. Through community, education and industry collaboration, Crypto Women Collective supports informed participation and wider access to expertise.

Media contact

Laura Peijs
laura@cryptowomencollective.com

Notes to editors

The Crypto Adoption Index 2026 is based on 253 responses to an anonymous online questionnaire, in Dutch and English, fielded from 11 June to 7 October 2026. Recruitment ran through the Crypto Women Collective newsletter and social channels and through community partners Crypto Insiders, Crypto Focus, Bitcoin Embassy, BCNL, 2Tokens and Nederlandse Vereniging Cryptodienstverleners (NVC). Participation was voluntary and recruitment was not random, so the sample reflects a crypto-engaged audience and cannot be generalized to the Dutch population. Figures describe groups within the survey. Results for men who have never owned crypto (n=22) are indicative only.