Black, Hispanic investors struggle with faith in crypto

By CORA LEWIS and ALEXANDRA OLSON
AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Many Black and Latino investors were drawn to crypto by its promise to be pathway to wealth-building outside of a traditional financial system with long history of racial discrimination and indifference to the needs of low-income communities. Crypto’s spectacular crash over the past year has complicated that picture, fueling debate between those who continue to believe in its promise and skeptics who say misleading advertising and celebrity-fueled hype drew vulnerable people to a risky and unproven asset class. Many Black and Latino enthusiasts remain invested not only in crypto but in encouraging others to get in the game. Others are disillusioned by an industry that has yet to live up to its promises of financial empowerment.