Black Experiences in Web3
An exploration of crypto adoption in Web3 by Black people
This report explores why Black people in the United States are adopting crypto at high rates relative to other groups and traditional financial tools. It explores what is unique about Black people's motivations and participation in crypto and considers historic, systemic, and cultural drivers of this participation.
Policy memo forthcoming
“[Blockchain]...is the next evolution. You can be your own record label. You could be your own art gallery. You could distribute your own music. You could distribute your own products, goods and services. You can be your own bank.”
Nile Ferell commenting on the potential for freedom many Black people who adopt crypto see in blockchain technology.
Report Goals
Explore the experiences and motivations of Black people in the U.S. as buyers of crypto.
Provide context for the fundamental shift that crypto adoption represents from historic trends on traditional approaches to wealth-building amongst Black people in the United States.
Illustrate how and why Black people are excited about potential opportunities to address shortcomings of the existing financial system with crypto tools and services — and identify potential risks that community leaders, policymakers, and builders should continue to address.
Provide inspiration for the Web3 industry, leaders at traditional banks, and policymakers to create meaningful and evidence-based solutions that enable more equitable wealth-building opportunities.
What’s in it:
This report examines how generational financial trauma (GFT) of Black people in the United States can shape their engagement with financial systems.
The report explores how much of Black people's receptivity to the proposition of blockchain tech is rooted in commonly cited themes of liberation, technology, imagination, and the future—a reimagination of the future with cultural precursors that predate blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
We document firsthand experiences of Black people using crypto tools in pursuit of personal quality of life goals, as well as Black community leaders addressing gaps in the financial and Web3 ecosystem.
The report calls to policymakers, builders, and Web3 investors to consider how Web3 participation risks that can be magnified for Black people in the U.S. and to include Black people in decision-making positions of power to design products and policies that can contribute to a more equitable Web3 for all.
Key Takeaways
Participation in crypto is fundamentally altering historic trends in traditional approaches to wealth-building amongst Black people in the United States, with implications for policymaking and industry.
Narratives around higher crypto adoption rates by Black people should be grounded in an understanding of this activity relative to the history of investment systems available to them.
Policymakers and builders need to champion products and processes that enable a greater range of people to participate safely in Web3.
A graphic from the report explores how the Afrofuturist tradition envisions Black spaces free from the oppression created by “traditional” spaces.
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