Leading female celebrities are banding together to encourage more women to get involved in crypto and NFTs. Stars including Reese Witherspoon, Mila Kunis, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Paris Hilton believe women should play a bigger role in shaping the future of the Internet. They want to make sure women do not miss out on lucrative investment opportunities and can learn about new technologies that will fundamentally reshape the way we think, work, and interact.

“We have watched a lot of these bros get together and earn a lot of money,” commented Ms. Paltrow in an event hosted by BFF, a cryptocurrency social community geared toward women.

Together these female celebrities pitch a message of female empowerment. “We deserve to be in the space just as much,” Ms. Paltrow asserted.

BFF: A Cryptocurrency Community for Women

Britt Morin and Jamie Schmidt started BFF. Ms. Morin is CEO of digital media company Brit + Co. Ms. Schmidt is an entrepreneur who founded beauty brand Schmidt’s Naturals.

In addition to support from Mila Kunis and Gwyneth Paltrow, other leading women who support the BFF community include:

  • Jenn Hyman, Founder and CEO of Rent the Runway
  • Randi Zuckerberg, businesswoman and sister of Mark Zuckerberg
  • Shiza Shahid, social entrepreneur and former CEO of the Malala Fund
  • Sheila Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Care.com
  • Julia Hartz, Founder and CEO of Eventbrite
  • Rebecca Minkoff, fashion designer

BFF plans to create and sell its own NFTs in the future. The online community is free to join. It provides a platform to learn and connect with other women interested in the space.

“One of the big criticisms of crypto/Web3 is that it’s dominated by ‘Crypto Bros’ who aren’t necessarily approaching this new frontier with a critical eye or prioritizing equal access or sustainability,” stated Jessica Hische, a member of the BFF branding team. “But that’s why I was pumped to get involved in BFF, a new open-access community hoping to bring more women and non-binary folks into the space.”

Investment Participation Gap for Women

The Web 3.0 space is rapidly growing. By 2026, estimates are that it will be a $10 trillion market. However, men represent over 80% of Web 3.0 application participants.

While data shows that women investors outperform men, women lag behind men in investing participation overall. Data shows that women comprise less than a third of users on crypto exchanges.

This means many women with money to invest are instead sitting on the sidelines. The initiatives spearheaded by female celebrities are intended to instill greater investing confidence in women.

Celebrity Promotions

Celebrities pushing for greater female involvement in crypto have been careful to not frame their message as investment advice. Instead, they are telling women to research potential investments and enter the space.

Celebrities who use social media to endorse crypto investments can run into legal trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC’s Enforcement Division has issued warnings and fined some celebrities in connection with paid social media endorsements that sound too good to be true. A legal disclaimer that states content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice can be helpful in avoiding future legal problems.

“We have a responsibility…once you learn about something to share knowledge, to welcome people,” Ms. Witherspoon stated.

Ms. Kunis echoed the sentiment. “This is simply about encouraging women to take little risks, explore and get educated, and get in there and try it out and participate,” she said. “If you don’t like it, that’s cool.”

American rapper Megan the Stallion posted a video titled “Bitcoin for Hotties” on social media. As a spokesperson for CashApp, Megan the Stallion encourages her fans to educate themselves about cryptocurrencies.

Paris Hilton and NFTs

Socialite Paris Hilton has been vocal about her crypto investments and the launch of her own NFT collection. She started investing in bitcoin and ether in 2016. Recently, Ms. Hilton joined Origin Protocol, an NFT platform, as a strategic adviser.

Ms. Hilton and other celebrities are working to increase the number of female NFT artists and investors. According to a report by ArtTactic, female artists created less than 20% of NFT art. Females launched a project called World of Women to celebrate inclusivity in the NFT space. Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes and Eva Longoria have promoted World of Women in the past. Since its July 2021 debut, the World of Women project has generated over $40 million in revenue. The success of community-backed initiatives like this one demonstrates the positive impact celebrities can make in promoting diversity across the Web 3.0 universe.