Nnena Ukuku
Partner, Venture Gained; Owner, Simplicity@Legal; Founder, Black Founders Start Up Community

The ABCs of Black Wealth: Ambition, Black Entrepreneurship, and Cryptocurrencies

In our never-ending quest to “secure the bag,” many of us may have contemplated owning the popular, media darling Bitcoin. But rather than collect these (bit)coins, it would better serve communities of color to own the technology that powers Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies.

The difference between owning a percentage point of Bitcoin versus owning the technology is immense. It is the difference between owning property—a solid investment—and owning Google—worth billions.  It is the difference between tenant farming versus owning the land you till. The technology that powers Bitcoin has the potential to shake up the big tech companies and the internet as we know it. The Black community must be leaders in the new internet revolution. We must stop sharecropping technology and reap the benefits of ownership.

Like any potential owner, you should know before you own. Bitcoin, a virtual, digital cryptocurrency,  is a peer-to-peer payment system. All cryptocurrencies use cryptography, or secret codes, to control the creation and transfer of money. Only those that understand and know the code can read the hidden message. Cryptocurrencies offer the benefits of a credit card (the electronic transmission of currency) and cash (personal information is not compromised) by using a distributed ledger, or blockchain, that verifies transactions.

Blockchain, a revolutionary technology, is a database that maintains a continuously growing set of data records. No master computer holds the entire chain. Rather, a vast network of computers holds a copy of the chain. Decentralization, among other things, means you have multiple eyes on information; and because there are copies, it is hard to send a fake transaction that cannot be checked against other copies. Since records are on multiple computers, it makes it more difficult for company consumer data to be targeted and breached.

Now that you have enough information to be disruptive—start dreaming.

Paul Snow, the founder of Texas Bitcoin, said, “the credit system in the U.S. is based in racism. I see Bitcoin removing barriers for communities of color.” We purportedly use credit to access the risk characteristics of borrowers, but the authors of the 2013 law article, “Discriminatory Effects of Credit Scoring on Communities of Color,” found that “many credit-scoring mechanisms include factors that do not just access the risk characteristic of the borrower; they also reflect the riskiness of the environment in which a consumer is utilizing credit.” If the credit system determines that your environment is risky, your insurance and loan credit worthiness will be jeopardized; your ability to get hired will be threatened; your housing choices will be limited; your car insurance will spike; and your business insurance will be higher.

Our current credit-scoring systems have a disparate impact on communities of color. The credit system is rooted in America’s history of housing discrimination, and the dual credit market that resulted from it. However, there are several blockchain companies looking to solve this issue. There are startups in the U.S. and overseas that remove the need for a bank account and enable individuals to build a different type of credit based off of choices the individual is making versus his or her racial makeup or neighborhood.

Bloom is one such blockchain company. Bloom plans to launch BloomCard; the first global credit card open to everyone, including those without a bank account or credit score. Every single purchase made with the BloomCard contributes to the customer’s BloomScore, which means the customer can start building credit right away. Imagine an individual living in a community of color no longer being penalized because he or she lives in the “wrong” zip code? Now imagine that same man or woman owning or even innovating with blockchain.

If you live in a smart home with devices that record your every movement, and someone hacks into that system, that person will have control over your life. There are several blockchain companies focused on keeping control over that information in the hands of the homeowners, not the hackers. By using blockchain, these companies are able to create greater security for your household devices. But no company has emerged as the leader in this developing field of smart home device security. This is an opportunity, and these opportunities are not bound by age. Malcom X once said:

"Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and our people rediscover their identity, and thereby, increase their self respect. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today."

Mark Zuckerberg, and other tech founders, were exposed to technology at an early age. Mark Zuckerberg was introduced to computers at age 10. This is a common pattern with most innovators: early exposure and familiarity. As members of communities of color, we need to get our resources “all the way together” to prepare our children to innovate.

Black Panther, a revolutionary film (and my penultimate pop-culture reference) is Exhibit A of the work ahead. Shuri, the younger sister of the Black Panther, was not only surrounded by valuable resources like vibranium and #BlackExcellence, she was also surrounded by opportunity. To create the community of the future, we must invest in that future today.  We must mobilize to provide access to our children, create opportunity, encourage ownership and innovation, and just maybe produce several Shuri’s in the process.