Bridging the Gap: How Crypto Expands Financial Access for America’s Underbanked

No group stands to gain more from crypto access than the unbanked and underbanked. Crypto has always aimed to fix the errors of traditional banking, and few failures are bigger than leaving billions shut out of the system.

Globally, 1.4 billion adults remain unbanked. In the U.S., 6% of households lack reliable access to traditional financial services, and those are disproportionally low income, Black and Hispanic, and disabled.

Policymakers should take note. Regulatory clarity is a key unlock. The GENIUS Act was an important first step, but Congress must now follow through with market structure legislation.

Crypto as a Tool for Wealth Generation

The unbanked are disproportionately young and low-income. According to The Federal Reserve Board, 13% of adults aged 18-29 are unbanked, compared with only 2% of those over the age of 60. 22% of adults with an income below $25,000 are unbanked, while that number shrinks to just 1% of adults with an income of $100,000 or more.

For interviewees, crypto filled a gap in wealth-building opportunities. Because they had full control over their assets, rather than trusting an intermediary, the people we interviewed were more interested in learning how to grow and save their wealth. Crypto “motivates me to save money, so I can let it sit in my wallet and let it increase,” Simon, a 27-year old immigrant living in the United States, explained. “It helps me have this better investing and savings mindset.”

Changing Perceptions of Trust and Safety

Nearly all of the interviewees said that the main reason they used crypto was because they found it more trustworthy and safe than traditional finance. They doubted banks would process transactions reliably, keep accounts open, or avoid freezing funds without cause. This perspective is reflected in federal data:

The Pursuit of Efficiency

Users interviewed found transacting with crypto to be significantly faster and cheaper than traditional financial transactions. In fact, the word numerous interviewees used to describe sending crypto transactions was “seamless.” Interviewees spoke fondly about how they could send payments to friends, or people with whom they were doing business, and watch the payment arrive in the recipient's wallet within a few minutes. 

Elijah, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen, described how crypto’s speed and efficiency made it easier for him to collect vital payments from his clients. He works in graphics and social media, managing the accounts of several people who live in other countries. When wire transfers work, they take several days, and they often are delayed for triggering fraud or anti-money laundering concerns.

Crypto solved his cross-border payments headaches. “I didn’t have to go to a bank, or wait three days, like other payments. It was stress-free because everything happened within minutes,” he said.

A Better Way to Send Money Abroad

The U.S. is a hub for crypto remittances: nearly 20% of the world’s outgoing digital money flows originated here in September 2024, worth $33.34 billion, per the Cambridge Digital Money Dashboard.

People interviewed said that they preferred crypto because it was significantly less expensive and faster than companies through which they would traditionally send international remittances. London, a 28-year-old immigrant from West Africa, explained to us that being able to send money to his family abroad was sometimes a matter of life and death. When his grandmother fell ill and needed to be sent money in order to cover emergency care, traditional remittances weren’t fast enough. But when London taught his family back home to use crypto, he was able to send the funds that were needed for his grandmother’s care within a few minutes. “Crypto made her better,” he said.

A Financial Future for All

These stories reveal crypto’s tangible impact: faster payments, cheaper remittances, new savings tools, and a sense of empowerment over personal finances. For the unbanked and underbanked, crypto is not an abstract innovation, but a lifeline.

It is crucial that lawmakers keep this in mind as they work on market structure legislation. Unfortunately, discussions have been starkly partisan in the Senate, with politics superseding what should be a united goal: increasing financial access, for everyone. We hope that this report helps those Members of Congress not lose sight of the benefits crypto could have for many of their constituents.

Read the full report here.

A Note About Methodology

In order to find these stories, we interviewed a diverse group. Of the interviewees, six lived in the U.S., three in developing economies, and two in non-U.S. developed economies. Two were digital nomads. Eight were people of color. Three identified as liberal, six as moderate, and two as conservative.

To protect privacy and encourage candor, pseudonyms were used. Interviews, which each ran 40 minutes to an hour, were audio recorded for internal record keeping. Each interviewee was asked to sign a consent form verifying that they would tell the truth to the extent of their knowledge.