According to Forbes, the median wealth of Black and Latino families could hit zero by 2053[1]. Traditionally, Black Americans lag behind on the wealth scale but the adoption of cryptocurrency, in particular Bitcoin, could allow a change in that narrative through education and dollar-cost averaging.
Investing in bitcoin for African Americans has become a “what do I have to lose” scenario. There is now tons of data on the impact of wealth inequality and how it affects African Americans which is downright shocking to say the least. The Black and Brown community’s wealth gap has widened through Jim Crow segregation, redlining, mass incarceration, high unemployment and lack of financial literacy. Bitcoin is not centralized by an entity, corporation, person or country, meaning it is not controlled by a single authority or managed in one place. This lack of centrality removes the fundamental flaw of bias. Bitcoin does not care what you look like, what culture you come from, your gender or your religious background.
Due to this, bitcoin is attractive to those typically disenfranchised from obtaining wealth, such as African Americans and other groups from diverse backgrounds. Adoption among this demographic is surging; a recent Harris Poll survey[2] found that in the U.S., 30% of Black and 27% Hispanic investors own cryptocurrency, compared with just 17% of White investors. Even outside of the United States, in places like Nigeria, bitcoin trading volume and remittances are the highest on the continent being the key drivers to adoption.
Getting Off Zero Through Unorthodox Education
Typically, financial literacy is taught and passed down to each generation. I can speak for myself in saying discussions about money happened on two occasions: when you didn’t have any and when someone owed you some. I also
