An Introduction to Cryptocurrency
From purchasing groceries to receiving salaries, government-backed paper currency has powered our global economy for nearly a thousand years. But in an increasingly digital society, technology is challenging the way we see, use, and think of money. For the LGBTQ+ community—a community that has been historically excluded from financial systems through barriers like discrimination in banking, employment, and even family inheritance—cryptocurrency may just present a new catalyst for creating change.
Cryptocurrency, commonly referred to as crypto, is a digital currency that does not rely on any central bank, government, or financial institution to function. Rather, cryptocurrency depends on the community. Individual computer networks process payments on the blockchain, which is a decentralized (meaning no government or bank has control over its transactions) digital ledger that keeps track of all transactions across the network.
Cryptocurrency essentially works like digital cash: let’s say you want to send money to a friend. First, you enter their wallet address and the amount. Then, the transaction is verified by a decentralized network and recorded on the blockchain. Once confirmed, your friend receives the funds in their wallet and is free to spend as they see fit. While this example highlights a transaction between two people, cryptocurrency can also be used for payments to businesses and vendors in exchange for goods and services.
As with any headline-making technology, cryptocurrency presents a series of benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, proponents argue that its unique application of technology provides greater financial freedom, enhances anonymity, and promotes global transactions. Due to its decentralized nature, cryptocurrency, unlike traditional paper currency, grants greater financial freedom to the parties involved with no one authority controlling or restricting transactions. Because of its use of the blockchain, cryptocurrency may also enhance privacy and anonymity, reducing risks of identity theft or surveillance. And its capabilities span the globe, promoting transactions regardless of location or legal status.
On the other hand, critics argue that its unique structure presents significant challenges. Its decentralized nature can also lead to regulatory uncertainty and make fraud or illicit transactions harder to prevent. The volatility of cryptocurrency markets further creates potential problems, with prices fluctuating unpredictably and making some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, an unreliable store of value. In just two days, from February 28 to March 2, 2025, the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed 18%, demonstrating the potential for vast fluctuations.
But love it or hate it, use it or avoid it, cryptocurrency is here and powerful, with nearly half a billion users worldwide. So a key question emerges—how can cryptocurrency help the LGBTQ+ community?
Decentralization and the LGBTQ+ Community
Christof Wittig is the co-founder of Hornet, one of the world’s largest gay social networks with over 100 million users. In 2018, Wittig and his team launched a cryptocurrency dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community called the LGBT Token, investing over a million dollars of their own money into the project. In an interview with LGBT Tech, Wittig broke down why he sees cryptocurrency as a natural fit for the LGBTQ+ community. “Crypto technology and the LGBTQ+ community are both decentralized,” Wittig explains. “We don’t have a centralized way to identify ourselves. Unlike a citizen of a country who gets a passport from some authority, we self-define and join this community. There's no president or pope.” Wittig believes that this decentralization pans out in three key ways: identity, economic visibility, and governance.
From an identity standpoint, blockchain offers pseudonymity and trust-based systems that could enhance safety in countries where LGBTQ+ people face persecution. “At Hornet, we don’t take personal information from our users. Even if a government were to subpoena us, we don’t have the data. We have the identity, but not as in your ID, which is uniquely identifiable to that user,” says Wittig.
On the economic front, the LGBTQ+ community generates significant financial activity, but much of it remains invisible due to a lack of formal recognition. This $4.6 trillion market is what’s known as the “Pink Economy.” “As an economy, we are not visible or measurable. But by capturing and measuring transactions within our community, we can play to our strength through numbers,” Wittig adds. After all, many of the most significant historical movements across the globe have harnessed the economic power of the communities involved.
Finally, governance remains a challenge for the LGBTQ+ community. “We don’t have a structured governance model. We rely on wonderful NGOs like LGBT Tech and businesses like Hornet or Grindr,” says Wittig. “Crypto inherently has governance mechanisms built in—through staking and voting—which could offer a new way for our community to organize and advocate.”
Facing Adversity: Challenges in Adoption and Investment
Despite the promising applications cryptocurrency may present for the LGBTQ+ community, real-world implementation has proven difficult. Wittig reveals how the LGBT Token soon encountered regulatory uncertainty and a mismatch between the cryptocurrency investment landscape and the community’s needs.
“A lot of our budget went to lawyers because of the uncertainty—was this a security? Was I going to go to jail for this?” Wittig recalls. “Technology usually allows for lower barriers to entry. We can create something really big without having to own a central bank or have millions of dollars. But it didn’t quite turn out that way.” Beyond regulatory hurdles, Wittig recalls facing hostility when seeking investment in the crypto space, especially at conventions and conferences. “The crypto world was extremely unwelcoming to diversity and inclusion,” he says. “I was at conferences where people openly slurred me.” Wittig’s experience reflects reports that many in the crypto space take advantage of pseudonymity to promote hate across numerous groups.
Even among users, adoption was a challenge. The LGBT Token was integrated into Hornet, allowing users to tip live streamers. However, Wittig holds that users were indifferent to whether they were using crypto or a traditional digital wallet. “People asked us for their password, and that’s not how wallets work—we actually created more problems than we solved for the end users.”
The Future of Crypto for LGBTQ+ Empowerment
Despite these setbacks, Wittig remains optimistic about blockchain’s long-term potential for LGBTQ+ communities. “I think it will happen. And maybe we were the wrong ones to do it…or we were too early at the time to market. Like everything, there’s always a time to market the issue as well,” he reflects. “I think it will be successful, and we just [hadn’t] found that entry point at the time.” His experience underscores an important reality: technological innovation isn’t just about having the right tools; it’s also about timing, community adoption, and solving real-world problems.
The road ahead will require both technological refinement and cultural shifts. The crypto world must become more inclusive, ensuring that LGBTQ+ innovators and users are not only welcomed but supported in shaping the future of decentralized finance. Meanwhile, real-world applications must be developed with the community’s needs in mind—whether through secure peer-to-peer transactions, enhanced economic visibility, or new forms of decentralized organizing.
While the obstacles are significant, so is the opportunity. Cryptocurrency, like the LGBTQ+ community itself, thrives on resilience, adaptability, and the pursuit of freedom. The key will be finding the right implementation and the right time that aligns with the community’s actual needs and behaviors.
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