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In the U.S., about 4.2% of households don’t have a bank account at all, and an additional 14.2% are underbanked. These gaps are even larger among marginalized communities. 10.6% of Black households and 9.5% of Hispanic households lack access to basic banking. Globally, roughly 1.4 billion adults lack any formal bank account.

2. Traditional banks often require paperwork, credit history, minimum balances, and proof of address. These disproportionately affect the poor, immigrants, and rural populations.

3. Cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) on blockchain can offer things previously gated behind big banks. Low-cost payments and remittances,
savings and digital value storage, etc.

4. People who are unbanked or underbanked often rely on expensive, extractive financial services. Check-cashing outlets and money orders charge high fees relative to income. Payday loans can have annual rates exceeding 400%. Crypto isn’t perfect, but its transaction costs can be far lower, and it doesn't require minimum balances, branch visits, or credit checks.

5. Screening before circulation would hurt the people it’s supposed to help.
People in vulnerable communities lose options before they ever get to try them.