Bitcoin: the most annoying subculture to exist yet somehow it elicits FOMO. I realized I had missed the bandwagon when I overheard a double date of 70+ year olds discussing investing in it over dinner at a no-jeans golf course. If you feel like everyone around you (including your parents) knows what Bitcoin is, and you somehow never got the memo, you’re not alone.

I spoke to Bitcoin industry expert Jalak Jobanputra who told me that Bitcoin is “a way to send money peer to peer without any banks in the middle.” Blockchain, which is the technology Bitcoin was built on, stores information on open documents, so that no one company has full ownership over the financial system, like a bank would. Bitcoin is just one type of cryptocurrency using blockchain. It was originally designed to be inclusive with the goal of reshaping the financial system, which throughout history, has been male dominated. Cool!

However, more men than woman invested in Bitcoin initially. Which means that even though Bitcoin seems to be a revolutionary way to disrupt wealth distribution, it also combines the sexism embedded in the finance and tech industries in a cocktail of male-privilege and late stage capitalism. Hence, the Bitcoin Bro.

Even though lines for the men's bathroom at Bitcoin conferences are longer than the ones for women, and the official North American Bitcoin Conference afterparty was held at a strip club, women aren't deterred from investing...and making money. Watch my deep dive into the Blockchain Bro and what it means for women in the video above.

Are you investing in crypto? Have Bitcoin Bros kept you from diving in? Let me know your thoughts below or on Instagram.