Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, have been hailed as potential game-changers in economic empowerment for Black people, and there’s a lot of talk in the community about this.
On the surface (if you believe in the potential of cryptocurrency), then this makes a lot of sense. You only have to look at the rise in value of Bitcoin – from £0.002 in April 2010, to £54,000 today, just 14 years later – to see how ridiculously life-changing the coin has been for those who got in early. Combine this with the fact that the crypto space doesn’t have the gatekeeping that keeps ‘normal’ people out of the real game, and you get the appeal. But can it genuinely level the economic playing field for Black people on a widespread basis?
The Black Network recently had the great honour and pleasure of an exclusive interview with Reggie Middleton, the self-described ‘Disruptor-in-Chief’ who basically invented blockchain for financial transactions. Reggie is a legend in the crypto community who is widely known as the ‘Father of DeFi’ (decentralised finance).
Reggie’s shared his views on a range of subjects in a brilliant session with Isa and Keith from theblacknetwork.co.uk. When it comes to crypto in the Black community, he pulls no punches, and says owning crypto won’t change our economic situation as a community. Instead, we’ve got to understand how to leverage crypto to change the game completely!
This viewpoint resonated deeply with us because it can be applied to any area where we as Black people are looking for equality or equity. If you believe that the system is stacked against us (and there does seem to be some evidence of this 🤫), then it makes sense to assume that to beat the system, and win in this game, the best thing we can do as a group, is create and play our own game!
Creative knowledge and innovative thinking are what Reggie Middleton believes can unlock crypto’s potential for Black communities. And if there’s one thing you know we’ll always do as Black people, it’s create!
You can watch our interview with Reggie here and if you haven’t already, join the network as a member to access additional snippets of a great conversation.
The Black Network