By: Lauren Pearlman, PhD
For generations, Black Americans have been locked out of wealth-building opportunities by discriminatory housing, lending, and labor policies. While policymakers have worked to address the racial wealth gap, Black communities still have lower rates of homeownership and less retirement savings than their white peers. Today, as new technologies reshape our financial system, cryptocurrency has emerged as a beacon of possibility. About one in four Black Americans now own cryptocurrency, with younger generations especially drawn to its promise of bypassing traditional financial gatekeepers. For many who have experienced housing discrimination, loan denials, and biased banking practices, the appeal of a decentralized, user-driven system is clear: a chance to build wealth without asking permission from institutions that have too often said “no.”
Yet this optimism exists alongside real risks. Cryptocurrency operates outside the safety nets of consumer protections, insurance, or federal oversight. When the popular cryptocurrency company FTX infamously collapsed in 2022, customers, including Black investors, lost their funding with no recourse. With celebrities, entrepreneurs, and even a sitting president promoting digital assets, the stakes are higher than ever. Without stronger guardrails, the very communities seeking financial empowerment may end up bearing the heaviest losses. Federal policy is lagging behind this fast-moving frontier. There is even disagreement among agencies as to whether crypto is a commodity, a security, or something else entirely. This lack of clarity makes meaningful regulation difficult, and it leaves families vulnerable to scams and market volatility. Meanwhile, federal resources that once helped Black entrepreneurs, like the Minority Business Development Agency, have been gutted. Instead of giving Black communities more tools to build sustainable wealth, this administration is leaving them to navigate the Wild West of digital finance alone.
The path forward requires both protection and possibility. Congress should adopt a uniform definition of cryptocurrency, enact stronger laws against blockchain-enabled fraud, and require major crypto firms to insure consumer assets. Equally important, we need public investment in financial literacy and resources that empower Black Americans to make informed choices about where to put their money. Innovation does not have to come at the expense of equity. Cryptocurrency will not close the racial wealth gap on its own. But if paired with bold policies that strengthen fair housing, expand access to capital, and ensure consumer protections, it can be one tool among many to build a more equitable economy. The question is whether politicians will let new technologies replicate the old inequities or whether they will seize the chance to chart a different future.
That’s the conversation we are taking up at the 2025 Policy for the People Economic Advancement Virtual Summit hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. In our final session, we will explore the policies that can unlock Black prosperity, from tax reform to homeownership to entrepreneurship in a digital age.
Join us on October 30 to be part of this urgent dialogue. Register today and help us build the future Black America deserves.
Read our cryptocurrency explainer, Financing Black Futures: Cryptocurrency and the Racial Wealth Gap, here: https://issuu.com/congressionalblackcaucusfoundation/docs/financing_black_futures_crypto_and_the_racial_wea?fr=sNDhiMjgzNzg4MzA
Read our resource list for the session here: https://issuu.com/congressionalblackcaucusfoundation/docs/resource_guide_-_financing_black_futures_investin?fr=xKAE9_zMzMw