Tove Andersson is empowering women in crypto

In connection with Women’s History Month, we are celebrating some of the amazing female investors and entrepreneurs in our community and shining a light on the incredible work they are doing in their respective industries. Today, meet member Tove Andersson, who is at the helm of KryptoGäris, a network that empowers women in crypto that she founded in her native Sweden. Andersson spoke with the Journal about her passion for blockchain technology, her multifaceted background, differences in attitudes toward crypto between Scandinavia and the U.S., and about the future of women in crypto.

SHACK15: Can you talk about your background and how you founded KryptoGäris?

Andersson: The first time I heard about blockchains and cryptocurrencies was in late 2016. At the time I was working in Stockholm as an Art Director at the advertising agency DDB. Since then, I built KryptoGäris (Scandinavia's largest network for women in crypto), worked as the CMO of a blockchain company, served as a board member of a public health tech company, built a platform enabling same-sex couples to get married on blockchain, given lectures at conferences across the globe on blockchain technology (including South by Southwest), and was recognized as a thought leader on the subject of privacy, crypto, and Web3. I have mostly lived as a digital nomad, splitting my time between Berlin, Tulum, and Stockholm until moving permanently to San Francisco this fall.

SHACK15: How did you build what became Scandinavia's largest network for women in crypto?

Andersson: It was obvious that there were too few women in the future of finance. 95% of all people invested in and working with crypto and Web 3 were men at the time. That's why I created KryptoGäris in 2017. I saw the likelihood of blockchain tech disrupting and rebuilding our society across the board of industries and recognized the risk of women losing the equality we have fought hard for over for the last generations. I wanted to create a space where it was okay to be feminine, where one could discuss crypto without encountering various forms of sexism and where beginner questions were met with friendliness and respect. It is still growing organically today which is nice to see.

Andersson built a platform enabling same-sex couples to get married on blockchain.

SHACK15: What challenges do women face in crypto that men don't, both in Scandinavia and more generally?

Andersson: Since it's a heavily male-dominated industry there are invisible structures that make companies and the industry more suitable for men. In some conversations, women will somehow end up in a different category than the participating men, regardless of whether our merits are equal. I also think that the #MeToo movement in some ways made this even worse as some leading men just stopped taking mentorship or meetings with younger women altogether.

In the beginning of this industry, models (and escorts) would be hired to mingle at the parties due to the lack of women and so us women that were there for the sake of crypto had to start each conversation explaining that we were actually there to talk about crypto. At the same time I love the blockchain and crypto industry and I feel that most people I have met have been super friendly and encouraging, it's not necessarily anybody's fault that industries turn out this way. And hopefully the model women at those events managed to snap up enough to invest in crypto when they got home.

SHACK15: What is the blockchain scene in Scandinavia like and how is it different compared to what is happening in Silicon Valley?

Andersson: When I give talks on cryptocurrencies in Sweden a common question is “How will people pay their taxes if we switch to Cryptocurrency based systems?” because people there generally trust and like the government. Elsewhere people try to avoid taxes. This being said, the blockchain scene in Scandinavia is hard working and dedicated. In my personal network I see that many founders are eager to create impactful projects.

SHACK15: What are your latest predictions for the industry?

Andersson: DAOs will super-trend in 2022 like NFTs did in 2021. Especially NFT-DAOs that will serve as investment vehicles for investors. More and more people will join. Regulations will continue being vague and uninformed and more mature NFT projects will develop. 2021 was the year that the public got familiarized with the concept of NFTs. This year I hope and believe that we will see more innovative use cases of this technology.