Binance Creates Cryptocurrency Perfume in Mysterious Attempt to Attract Women

Image credits: Binance

What does cryptocurrency smell like? According to Binance's new fragrance “Crypto”, ozone, salt, and moss.

Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, but the company faces serious challenges. The company and co-founder Zhao Changpeng have pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to the U.S. Department of Justice. Since then, Binance has laid off two-thirds of its staff and trading revenue has fallen by 75%.

Meanwhile, Binance's marketing department is working on a different kind of problem: one with a lower risk of fraud. To celebrate International Women's Day, Binance has launched a flashy campaign to encourage women to get into crypto through the power of scent.

“I think the purpose of this is to be irreverent, have fun, and try to push the boundaries,” Binance CMO Rachel Conlan told TechCrunch. “There will always be some people who will be upset, but I'm confident this will move the discussion in the right direction. Plus, it was an all-female team that worked on this issue.”

Binance made fun of Yesterday I asked about the perfume on X and received hundreds of replies, many of them saying the same thing. “Imagine the scent.” This refrain originates from a sleazy 4chan meme, but like Pepe the Frog, the joke has been repurposed among cryptocurrency evangelists.

One might guess that Crypto, also known as Eau de Binance, smells like the last day of a tense hackathon, when no one had time to shower. Or maybe it smells like Sam Bankman Freed's prison cell. But this is a stereotype Conran is trying to counter to make the crypto space look more inclusive.

The actual scent is described as follows. “This fragrance opens with crisp notes of ozone, salt, and moss, recalling the essence of a crisp, invigorating wind. The heart notes reveal a luxurious blend of oud, mandarin, and precious woods, with notes of amber, woody , the base notes of musk provide a warm, musky, sweet earthy scent that exudes a sophisticated atmosphere.”

Say what you want about “Eau de Binance,” but Bain Capital Crypto enthusiastically posted a collage of seven men to announce its new investment team on International Women's Day 2022. This exceeds the contribution of the cryptocurrency industry. But even as more women enter the industry, the crypto world is struggling to shake off the stench of the men's locker room. According to research by Boston Consulting Group, only 7% of Web3 founders are women, and 27% of employees at top crypto startups are women. This gender disparity extends to crypto investors as well.

Binance has produced around 100 bottles of this perfume, but none are actually sold. Instead, women can try out the scent at a pop-up in a shopping mall in Dubai. It seems far-fetched that picking up a CRYPTO perfume sample while shopping will change a woman's mind about investing in digital assets. But Conran insists the invocation is brash. While the absurdity of the perfume is supposed to tempt people (“Imagine the scent”), the underlying promotion is that the first 5,000 people who completed Binance's Academy Beginner Course A woman can earn her $25 with her USDT.

In a conversation with Conran, I wondered if this campaign seemed to flatten women into stereotypes and suggest that women are only interested in feminized things like perfume and shopping. I asked him if he was worried about it. I told her that I don't wear perfume and that I don't know many women who do. However, Conran argues that fragrances are more culturally prevalent in Europe and the Middle East, where she is based.

“The last thing I want about this is to be patronizing. What I want is to be a joker,” Conlan said. “We’ve attributed a lot of cryptocurrencies to the crypto fraternity, a very male-dominated space. It's about borrowing from the fragrance and beauty industry's canons of what's attention-grabbing.”

If this is indeed satire as Conran says, the success of the satire will depend on what Binance is actually making fun of. Is this perfume a genuine attempt to get women to learn more about finance? If so, what does its marketing strategy say about the company's views on women? When it comes to gender diversity in finance. Well, the solution isn't as simple as a spray bottle of essential oils. But the confusing message may make the idea of ​​a cryptocurrency perfume seem more patronizing than interesting.

“We wanted to express emotion with this,” she said. “What does your first step into cryptocurrency evoke and make you feel?”

It's hard to get over the idea that what women really need to overcome sexism in the tech industry is the scent of Orbinance. But Conran's intentions seem genuine, if easily misunderstood.

“The only time we find ourselves in this situation is not just once a year when we announce a new data point or a new campaign,” she said. “This is something we are very passionate about as a company and something we feel strongly about that will make our industry better. and will be designed with women in mind.”