Bitcoin is becoming one of the biggest buzzwords in the world. Data from a July 2021 survey conducted by analysis firm Exploding Topics found that rou
Bitcoin is becoming one of the biggest buzzwords in the world. Data from a July 2021 survey conducted by analysis firm Exploding Topics found that roughly 1,700 American adults, or 89% of participants, had heard of Bitcoin. A recent survey from the cryptocurrency platform Paxful also found that 95% of women out of 1,555 females polled in the United States were familiar with Bitcoin.
While Bitcoin’s (BTC) presence is notable, there still seems to be a lack of understanding regarding BTC and cryptocurrency. For instance, Paxful’s survey discovered that 43% of women polled in the United States want to learn more about Bitcoin, even though 95% of these individuals know that BTC exists. In addition, underprivileged communities and minorities have expressed interest in learning about Bitcoin and crypto as digital assets gain popularity.
Bitcoin in low-income American communities
In order to bring crypto education to those who need it the most, grassroots initiatives are launching throughout the U.S. that target disenfranchised communities.
For example, Najah Roberts, CEO of Crypto Blockchain Plug — a Black-owned crypto education center based in Inglewood, California — told Cointelegraph that she will soon be traveling to 41 cities across the U.S. to help disenfranchised communities understand Bitcoin’s importance:
“From May 29 to July 13, my team and I will be going to different cities in the U.S. to help people download digital wallets, along with educating them on why Bitcoin is critically important to the black and brown community. We will be in some of the poorest cities in America, all within a 45-day time period.”
Known as “The Digital Financial Revolution Tour,” Roberts explained that this will be the second year she will travel across the country with a team of crypto experts to promote Bitcoin education. “We previously reached about 2,000 people last year, which was incredible given that the world was still coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Roberts said. Given the project’s previous success, Roberts believes this year’s tour will produce phenomenal results.
“We are going to be holding ‘corner classes,’ meaning we will set up shop on different corners in the middle of inner cities. Most of the people who stop by will most likely be unfamiliar with Bitcoin, while some may be familiar with it but want to learn more. My personal goal is to give everyone $10 worth of BTC just for registering.”
Roberts elaborated that the second Digital Financial Revolution Tour will begin in California in cities including Los Angeles and Oakland, and will then head to Las Vegas, Arizona and New Mexico. “We plan to go to the poorest places first, like Lake Charles in Baltimore. We picked the most disenfranchised, unbanked and underbanked areas to get folks educated.” Rather than hosting “corner classes” outside neutral locations like a local church, for instance, Roberts explained that groups will congregate in front of beauty shops and neighborhood storefronts. “I try to be objective about locations so everyone feels comfortable to come out and learn.”
While the idea of traveling across 41 different cities in the U.S. within a 45-day timespan may sound difficult, Roberts shared that the biggest challenge this year is to help people in low-income communities understand why they actually need Bitcoin:
“We have to meet people where they are, even if that means going to housing projects or neighborhoods where politicians never even visit. Our goal is to not only get people to understand Bitcoin but also to change the way they think about money. This is about financial literacy and understanding how money works.”
Roberts isn’t the only one aiming to bring financial literacy to the masses. Bitcoin analyst Tony Tate told Cointelegraph that no one ever talked about money when he was growing up due to community values. “No one ever talked about politics, religion or money where I came from,” he said. Yet, Tate stated that education has always been a priority for him, which is why he believes educating disenfranchised communities will make it easier for individuals to understand the potential of cryptocurrency:
“People should be afraid of fiat money because it’s not backed by anything. Blockchain, however, is backed by proof-of-work or proof-of-stake mechanisms, so getting this education in the hands of people who don’t have a lot makes it easier for them to understand.”
In order to accomplish this, Tate recently launched Litchain, a Bitcoin educational initiative expected to spur economic growth in the rural town of Gaffney, South Carolina. “We opened the doors of the first Black-owned Bitcoin data center in Gaffney. The 20 modular data centers will house Bitcoin mining computers and create jobs that pay $60,000 or more,” he explained. The Litchain Corporation’s new data center is one of Tate‘s first three mining centers in the U.S. He said that the…
cointelegraph.com