Stablecoins and cryptocurrencies are the first line of defense against the cannibalization of financial platforms

Since the early days of ICOs, one of the main narratives of cryptocurrencies has been the ability to “bank the unbanked.” According to the World Bank's 2021 Global Index Database, 76% of adults worldwide have some form of account ownership. But banks act at their discretion, sometimes in a very arbitrary manner. In 2024, having a bank account still does not guarantee that you may become unbanked from one day to the next. In light of this, maintaining a cryptocurrency wallet containing savings in stablecoins (coins linked to the value of a currency) emerges as a citizen's line of defense against irascible institutions.

Being unbanked or underbanked, as Forbes contributor Emily J. Birkin explained in her December 2022 article, means not being able to access bank accounts, or not having access to other financial services, such as credits or loans. While researching this article – I wanted to highlight the stories of people who have 'lost their bank accounts', so I decided to do a little research Twitter poll Among the crypto people. My research survey resulted in me reading multiple days' worth of responses and direct messages from people who had their accounts closed with only days notice. Mostly, because of their ties to cryptocurrencies. Through “cryptocurrency relationships,” this could be anything from cashing out your Coinbase account, to being a digital artist selling your work through NFTs, and more.

Sofia Garcia He is the founder of ARTXCODE, an art house that provides artistic representation and corporate consulting. She is also on the board of Code/Art, a non-profit organization that aims to increase the number of girls studying computer science. When I posted my survey, Sophia contacted me via direct message and told me that Chase Bank had closed her business and private accounts. A Chase employee revealed to her that her accounts had been flagged after a series of deposits from Coinbase. Sofia recalled the weeks of trying to find a new bank for ARTXCODE and described them as “the worst.” Especially like before cryptocurrencies, I was part of the JP Morgan team learning how to use cryptocurrencies.”

This denial of payment services does not only occur at the banking level, unfortunately. Payment apps like Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, and Wise work the same way as banks. Protecting oneself from these possibilities that may cause severe disruptions in one's daily life is extremely important.

Allie Eve Knox is a sex worker and activist who has been working since 2018 as a consultant on Spankchain ($SPANK), a cryptocurrency project that aims to provide a censorship-resistant payment system for the adult industry, SpankPay. In a Google chat
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Meet, Allie explained that her connection to cryptocurrency payments came after she was removed from the platform for performing legal sex acts (cam shows). In 2014, Allie joined Bitcoin
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After one of her viewers suggested she takes Bitcoin payments via QR code. In 2016, she was hired by Spankchain due to her experience and expertise in this field. She realized that cryptocurrencies would only be useful to people like her if the apps were so simple and easy to use that she didn't spend entire days working on UX challenges. SpankPay, the solution it is working on, was fully operational until March 2023 when the payment processor providing the ingress and egress methods, Wyre, terminated its contract. In our conversation, Allie mentioned that they are now on the verge of relaunching, but with a different, more complete approach: While a new payment provider has been brought on board, Spankchain and Allie have been lobbying in Washington, DC. Since the work people perform on SpankPay and itself is legal in the US, Allie highlighted that the ordeal is based on financial discrimination.

Sex workers are not the only marginalized group relying on cryptocurrencies: this type of payment has proven extremely effective in extreme situations such as fundraising for war-torn areas. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2023, the cryptocurrency community quickly rallied to send money to provide routers, food, and even fundraise for the Ukrainian military. Russian art group Pussy Riot helped coordinate UkraineDAO Which raised US$3 million for defence. At the same time, the similar mission entity Come Back Alive was pulled from Patreon. Recently, with Gaza irretrievably destroyed, in a severe and disproportionate retaliation following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, a new cryptocurrency fundraising initiative was born. Kat, the initiator, is a crypto product manager based in Europe. In 2023, she visited Gaza to provide guidance to people wishing to learn technical skills, within the framework of the “Gaza Sky Geeks” humanitarian initiative, which aims to advance the digital economy in Palestine. During that time, Kat met many Palestinians eager to learn about the technologies she helped build. These people, all civilians, are now being evacuated with their families, and Kat is fundraising to pay for the documents needed for their safe passage to Egypt. So far, the ETHecucations campaign has raised more than $100,000 and the first family has been evacuated, Kat confirmed in a private conversation.

Although you may not be in extreme positions or belong to a marginalized group, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins specifically ($USDC)
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$GHO, $RAI, $USDT
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Being some of the alternatives out there) can increase your “anti-fragility”. We are all limited and fragile in the face of extreme odds and institutions with ever-changing rules and regulations. It is in an individual's best interest to protect their assets by diversifying into cryptocurrencies.