4 Reasons Why Crypto Skeptics Should Reconsider

Consider some of the barriers to banking services today. They require an ID, but not everywhere regulates or manages these well. If a country has poor infrastructure, for example, banks may decide not to serve that population. Geographic proximity to banks is also a barrier to service for many.

Fees and penalties also prevent a lot of people from obtaining loans, investments, or simply maintaining a checking account. These obstacles hit lower-income folks especially hard. DeFi eliminates the need for middlemen like bankers, lawyers, and servicers. Removing these middlemen drastically reduces financial transaction fees and opens financial services to more people.

Crypto Helps Victims of Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence

Because crypto wallets and transactions are linked to a unique key instead of a name or account number, they provide anonymity to users. Traditional bank accounts are easily tracked, allowing abusers to control their partners’ finances.

In a guest post for the Council on Foreign Relations blog Women Around the World, Catherine Powell and Maiya Moncino highlighted crypto’s potential uses, including safety:

“…in the United States, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence found that 94 percent of women who were victims of domestic violence had also been victims of economic abuse, where the abuser restricted access to finances. Cryptocurrency is anonymous — users’ finances are connected to a key, not to their name — so women who have internet access and a phone can theoretically take advantage of digital currencies to manage and control their own finances, out of sight of men, the government, or others who might seek to control them.”

People debate the broader pros and cons of crypto’s anonymity, but these anonymous transactions have been literal lifesavers for women escaping abusive situations.

Many Coins/Tokens Support Great Causes

Most people have a cause or a charity that means a lot to them. Regardless of which causes are most important to you, there’s probably a crypto project out there that supports it! The crypto sector is profit-driven, to be sure, but lots of these projects also support charitable organizations and social justice initiatives.

Below are just a few projects to illustrate a broad range of interests. (I’m not affiliated with or earning money from any of them.)

OpenLitterMap

OpenLitterMap is a project founded to support environmentalism. It’s built on the Cardano network, and its token is called “Littercoin.” Investors can earn Littercoin by uploading images of themselves cleaning up litter in public spaces.

CURE Token

CURE Token “combines research, technology, and good” toward the goal of supporting cancer research and eradicating childhood cancer.

ECO Coin

Investors can earn ECO Coin by implementing sustainable practices into their daily lives. Examples of ways to earn ECO include going vegan, walking or riding a bike to work, or syncing a smart thermostat to your phone.

Elongate Coin

Elongate Coin gets its name from a play on words from an Elon Musk tweet (“Elon-Gate”). Built on the Binance blockchain and billed as the “Heart of Crypto,” Elongate Coin uses the cultural power of memes to support a variety of charitable organizations and causes.

Crypto Is Disturbing the Powers That Be

After the 2008 housing bubble burst and the economy came thisclose to collapsing, a lot of us grew jaded. Some directly felt that economic hit. Others watched loved ones lose thousands in retirement savings. Homeowners found themselves underwater with their mortgages. Wages stagnated and good jobs became scarce. Americans depleted their savings to stay afloat.

Substantial help from the federal government came to few except the Wall Street robber barons.

The chance to earn a solid ROI while also disrupting the status quo of the exploitative and corrupt banksters appealed to me. Revolution by circumvention, a few Satoshi soldiers at a time. I don’t think it veers into childish territory to be gleeful at the prospect of upending their business as usual.

Takeaways…

Yes, there’s a major learning curve with crypto. And yes, a lot of the information out there seems suspect. (And a little too full of rocketship emojis.) As a relatively recent crypto-convert myself, I get the concern. These worries are exactly why I’ve enjoyed learning about concrete uses of crypto for good.

I’m not saying that the crypto world has a benevolent agenda, as a whole. Its primary goals are wealth building and shaking up the financial sector. But if you questioned its legitimacy or usefulness like I did, then it might be worth it to take a second look. Beneath the frenetic, complicated veneer, good things are happening in the crypto world.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article is financial advice, and no one should ever invest any more money into cryptocurrencies than they can afford to lose.