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In commemoration of "Black History Month", exploring whether cryptocurrency addresses inequality in the financial system

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In commemoration of "Black History Month", exploring whether cryptocurrency addresses inequality in the financial system

February is "Black History Month" in the United States, aimed at commemorating the profound contributions of African Americans to American culture and reflecting on the efforts made by African Americans to overcome slavery, racial prejudice, and various forms of inequality.

Table of Contents

  • Most African Americans in the United States are optimistic about cryptocurrencies and are deeply interested in their technology
  • Digital identity may be a solution to racial and gender discrimination

In commemoration of this, the mainstream U.S. exchange Coinbase released a research report titled "Black Americans & Crypto" on its Blog, highlighting the current unfriendliness of the financial system towards African Americans and the positive impact of cryptocurrencies on this group. The research findings include:

  • The negative impact of the current financial system on African Americans is twice that of white Americans

Inequality in Financial Services

According to a survey sampling of 5,126 respondents, 48% of African Americans in the U.S. stated that they have experienced unfair treatment in the current financial system (banks, stock markets, loans, etc.) due to racial or gender differences, while 24% of white Americans have had similar experiences.

Source: coinbase

According to a report released by Zillow report, African Americans in the U.S. account for only 3% of conventional mortgage applications, the lowest among all ethnic groups, with a rejection rate of about 25%, while the rejection rate for white Americans is only 10%. Coinbase tweeted:

Through cryptocurrency, you will no longer be judged as a person of color, but rather based on your overall financial situation.

Coinbase pointed out that one of the reasons for not being able to access financial services is the requirement for government-issued identification to open an account, with as many as 11% of U.S. citizens and 25% of African Americans lacking such identification. Robert Greenfield, Head of Social Impact at Ethereum developer ConsenSys, stated:

The first thing I hope cryptocurrency technology solves is identity authentication. The impact of digital identity goes beyond imagination. If a person doesn't have a driver's license, they can't even participate in humanitarian aid programs.

The Panacea for Financial Services?

Co-founder of blockchain startup Yup, Vernon Johnson, believes:

Many cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous and do not require the disclosure of real identities. Whether one can access financial services depends on their historical transaction records, which can alleviate issues such as racial discrimination in financial services.

CEO of financial infrastructure developer EMTECH, Carmelle Cadet, summarized in the report:

When we look back to 2008, whether you were in an economic powerhouse or a developing country, whether you had money in the bank, we were all on tenterhooks. Many people were unemployed, and all of this was inseparable from our only financial system. Therefore, we need an alternative to prevent everything from being destroyed tomorrow, and cryptocurrency is your only chance.

Further Reading

  • Coinbase is taking frequent actions, recruiting former Google product vice presidents, and launching international custody services
  • Using "satoshi" for payments is promising! VISA cryptocurrency executive: Bitcoin will usher in the era of internet micro-payments

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