Cryptocurrency investors tend to be dog lovers, while gold bugs prefer cats, study shows

• Crypto holders are more likely to be dog lovers - and gold investors tend to be cat people, a study found.
• Only about one-fourth of all crypto investors are women, highlighting a massive gender disparity.
• More gold investors are likely to be married with children, while crypto holders tend to be single.

Cryptocurrency holders are more likely to be dog-friendly, while those who lean on gold tend to be fans of cats, according to research by crypto exchange Xcoins.

As many as 45% of gold investors were found more likely to own a cat, and about 44% of crypto investors had a tendency to have dogs, data showed.

Another notable highlight of the research is that only 28% of people that hold crypto are women, confirming the wide belief that the industry is male-dominated - with 72% of them being men. Meanwhile, gold investors are almost evenly split between men and women.

Data published by eEtoro last month showed only 15% of bitcoin traders are women. Although that's a slight increase from the beginning of 2020, it still highlights the massive gender imbalance in the cryptocurrency world.

Xcoins' CEO said it was important to bridge the gap between gender groups to facilitate mainstream adoption. "If bitcoin is to succeed in the mainstream, then it needs support from all demographics," CEO Rob Frye said. "No-one is stopping women from entering, or investing the crypto space, but little is being done to encourage them either."

Xcoins' study also found that younger people aged between 16 and 34 are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies, while those inclined towards gold are older than 34. This highlighted differences in investors' marital status, showing gold investors are more likely to be married with children, while crypto investors tend to be single with no children.