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OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n Crypto-skeptics are taking a victory lap as digital asset prices unwind and layoffs sweep across the sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n For minority communities across the country, the downturn in the digital currency market is a missed opportunity for financial self-sufficiency. Bitcoin and decentralized finance offer people that have long been denied equal access within the traditional banking system an opportunity to build investment portfolios, carve out a stake for their families in the financialized economy of the 21st century and begin to build intergenerational wealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n As inflation reaches 9%, gas prices skyrocket, and a recession looms, many African Americans have lost economic ground. This dire economic situation was exacerbated by the pandemic and finds the community looking for financial options. For many, Crypto filled the void.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many in the Black community understood the significance of this new technology. A recent industry survey shows one-quarter of Black investors own cryptocurrency, compared to just 15% of white investors. Najah Roberts, the African American \u201cQueen of Crypto,\u201d launched a nationwide financial awareness campaign to educate retail investors about the promise of these new assets. Her campaign, titled \u201cThe Second Annual Digital Financial Revolution Tour,\u201d or DRFT, has targeted 41 urban communities throughout the United States. From Los Angeles to Brooklyn, Las Vegas to Boston, Roberts\u2019 DRFT has sought to positively transform the financial mindset and trajectory of economically disenfranchised and middle-income people of color.<\/p>\n One would expect America\u2019s leading financial institutions \u2014\u00a0with their grandiose pronouncements about promoting equity and inclusion in finance \u2014\u00a0to lament crypto\u2019s receding value and the impact it will inflict on minority investors. Instead, it appears the big banks are cheering it on.<\/p>\n