Education, Diversity, And Sustainability: 3 Key Pillars For the Crypto Companies of the Future
This guest post was written By Ana Berón, Corporate Affairs Manager at Bitso, a LATAM cryptocurrency exchange with over 6 million users.
In this day and age, the long-term success of a company cannot depend solely on its business model, liquidity, or profitability; consumers, investors, collaborators, and regulators are all prioritizing companies that ensure a positive impact on their community and environment. According to the Porter Novelli Purpose Premium Index, 75% of Americans believe it's no longer acceptable for companies to merely make money; they must positively impact society too, and 69% say they’re less likely to support companies that are clearly only in business to make money. Similarly, more than 80% of investors surveyed by PriceWaterhouseCooper say that asset managers should be more proactive in developing new ESG products. These statistics show new levels of skepticism in today’s consumers and investors, and highlight the pressure they exert on companies to actively improve their impact on surrounding communities and the environment.
Although the crypto industry still has a long way to go, it’s important to remember that the original purpose of crypto was to make financial services accessible to everyone using decentralization. The pattern it’s intended to follow is similar to that of the internet, which has evolved over time into a shared communication tool that belongs to no one and benefits everyone. The values of accessibility and decentralization go hand in hand with the current demands of consumers and investors prioritizing ESG initiatives, making now the ideal time for crypto companies to adopt ESG commitments and initiatives into their business plans.
The outline below defines three key approaches to help crypto companies adopt effective ESG initiatives. All three were developed based on Bitso’s experience building out its Crypto for Good program. They are designed to directly impact the vulnerable populations who stand to benefit most from blockchain technology.
1. Education: Democratize access to technology and financial education
It’s no secret that financial education can help people protect and grow their savings, just as digital education can help people prevent fraud and optimize their time and resources. Crypto education combines these two worlds – the financial and the digital – so building knowledge of crypto can help people navigate both with greater cunning and certainty.
It’s the responsibility of crypto companies to promote cryptocurrency education and provide customers with reliable and easy-to-understand information accompanied by friendly and intuitive products and tools. Creating a crypto education plan for clients, NGOs, educational institutions, and the general public will help more people understand the benefits and risks of crypto so they can make safer and more lucrative decisions when using the technology.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Close the gender gap and create inclusive products
Cryptocurrencies were invented with the dream of creating universal currencies. However, to achieve universality in crypto use, there is a significant gender divide to address. According to a report by Morning Consult, male adoption of cryptocurrency continues to rise in the US, with more than 24% of US men now owning crypto. Meanwhile, female adoption is on the decline, recently dropping to 9% from a high of 15%. Crypto companies are responsible for addressing these figures to make adoption more uniform, and it starts with looking inward.
Internally, business inclusion efforts are key to closing the gaps. Companies should create opportunities for women to develop and grow within companies, providing equal opportunities, eliminating unconscious bias, and investing in the development of female leaders through training and mentorship programs.
Externally, companies should work more closely with nonprofit organizations already helping women and girls enter STEM, developing joint programs so that crypto, technology development, and evolving financial systems are part of the curriculum. Women, rural communities, and those with less access to traditional education should be at the forefront of recipients of these programs.
Sustainability: Promote sustainable networks and reduce the carbon footprint
Like all industries, crypto plays its part own part in contributing to climate change. However, blockchain technology has come a long way since its inception, most recently when Ethereum transitioned to a far more energy-efficient method of verifying transactions. Such improvements show that innovation and commitment can reduce the industry’s environmental impact.
We’ve seen the evolution across plenty of other industries: trains transitioned from coal to steam; now cars are transitioning from gas to electric. Crypto, too, can transition over time and with greater adoption, as long as the leading companies innovating across the space are committed to spearheading that change.
When blockchain technology first emerged, it was built to provide an alternative to the centralized power structures of traditional finance. Blockchain technology promised transparency, inclusion, and decentralization; it promised new systems that would include those who were excluded from traditional institutions. Over time, those promises are coming true, but more than a decade after blockchain technology began revolutionizing our systems, it’s important that the companies at the forefront of the space not lose sight of the values that laid the groundwork for them to exist in the first place.
This guest post was written By Ana Berón, Corporate Affairs Manager at Bitso, a LATAM cryptocurrency exchange with over 6 million users.
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