Why crypto is the solution to the wealth gap

Joah Santos, CMO at Aldrin talks about why crypto is the solution to the wealth gap, understanding how DeFi investment works and advice for people wanting to get engaged in the DeFi space.

Aldrin’s mission is to build the ultimate ecosystem to cut working time in half and make money work for their customers.

How would you describe the wealth gap?

 The different between the income gap and the wealth gap – which people often confuse – has to do with amount of assets that people either have, or are born into. Capitalistic nature means that those who are good at gaining and keeping it are going to swallow it up, whereas those who aren’t are going to keep losing. When capital moves to the big holders of wealth, it becomes more and more difficult for everyone to break free from their situation.

What do you think are the contributing factors to the wealth gap? 

I think the problem is how people are brought up – there was a study that said if you took everything away from a person who grew up wealthy and someone who grew up poor, the first person would still have more money because they grew up in a household that understood the importance of investing over time, and accumulating assets.

What is Aldrin doing to address the wealth gap in regards to crypto and DeFi?

We want to make it more accessible and help people to understand what exactly happens behind the scenes. With traditional savings accounts you just put the money in and don’t see anything that happens in the background, and that is what we want to bring to DeIi. With DeFi you can see the ‘plumbing’ and you also need to be able to understand all the different pieces and how to use them to best of your ability.

Which target market do you think DeFi needs to be aimed at: those who already know everything about the space, or those just trying to get their feet wet and learn more about it?

We’re currently developing different products for these different target markets at Aldrin. Aldrin.com is a native product for those who understand the space, and need to be on top of their investments. We’re also currently working on a wallet for younger people, where you place a deposit in and earn a decent APR. We’ve also got another product called Building Blocks which gives three different options in terms of yield and risk – we will teach people what happens with the money, and help them understand this new world because DeFi is going to replace the entire financial ecosystem that currently exists.

How would you advise people wanting to get involved with defi?

 YouTube is a great tool – it took me a few months of watching several hours of videos a day to really understand what is happening with all the different aspects of DeFi. You just need to dedicate the time to learn and take full advantage of it.

What are your biggest challenges in getting the word out about defi?

 The average person should be able to invest in new technology they believe can succeed – we have to work within the rules of the government. I’m in favour of regulation as it will make people feel safer to invest, but the government needs to come to grips with it. We should allow as many people to know about it, because right now it’s only benefiting people in tech who know the space, or very wealthy people with financial advisors. Everyone else is missing out.