Imagine Sarah. She’s 24 years old, buried beneath a tidal wave of student loan debt, and juggling two part-time jobs to pay the rent. Like most of her peers, she fell for the excitement and optimism surrounding Bitcoin. "Be your own bank!" "Escape the system!" The promises were seductive. She sank a chunk of her savings – money she literally couldn't afford to lose – into Bitcoin, hoping for a quick return to ease the crushing weight of her financial burdens. You know how this story ends, right? Bitcoin tanked. In the end, Sarah lost most of her investment. Her dream of financial breathing room evaporated.

This isn't just Sarah's story. Every day millions of young people are lured in by the siren call of crypto. Sadly, most end up marooned on the shores of its chaotic unpredictability. And it should make you angry.

Crypto's False Promise Of Independence

The narrative surrounding Bitcoin is carefully crafted. It’s sold to us as the democratizing, decentralizing, cat’s-meow revolutionary technology, the digital gold that frees us from the tyranny of centralized finance. Look closer. Bitcoin’s price volatility increasingly tends to follow the stock market, especially the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The idea that it’s a hedge against traditional markets? Busted. Data proves that it is correlated. This isn’t an unraveling, it’s an undiscovered type of investment. Like other asset classes, it’s not immune to its own anxieties and uncertainties in the global economy.

And who benefits? Not Sarah. Not the typical, everyday, Gen Z just trying to make ends meet. The only real winners are wealthy investors. They can afford to ride out the storms and corner the market in their own favor. It's the same old story: the rich get richer, and everyone else gets left behind. Take into account that the top 10% of Americans own close to 90% of shares. Cryptocurrency is a disaster all right—for everyone except the billionaires exploiting it as yet one more tool for consolidating wealth upward.

We saw this first with the initial tariffs announced by President Trump when markets reacted to his announcement initially going down and crypto staying flat and relatively unaffected. Then recent announcements of contagion into Asian markets sent bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies falling again. This further demonstrates just how tenuous and susceptible to sentiment the crypto market really is.

Justice Department's Crypto Crime Negligence

Second, the scope of unregulated behavior in the cryptocurrency market is mind boggling. It is the Wild West of finance, where you can get away with anything. In response to this challenge, the Justice Department established a national cryptocurrency enforcement team. Now, they are disbanding this team.

This isn’t simple incompetence, it’s willful complicity with the bad actors that prey on the folks like Sarah. The government's failure to act sends a clear message: in the world of crypto, you're on your own.

Though Bitcoin did increase above $100,000 as recently as late January, reaching a peak of $104,669 on January 25, the tides have turned. Unfortunately its value has dropped since then. Bitcoin fell 3.43%, to just over $79,700 in Thursday’s after-hours trading. This was a steep drop off after an impressive surge of 8.82% the day before. It’s down 6.93% since last Friday, having recently dropped below $74,000. It recovered by the end of Monday, rocketing back over $78,000. These swings are not typical or healthy for any currency that aspires to be a global medium of trade.

A Wild Ride Demands Stronger Regulation

Unsurprisingly, bitcoin’s volatility tops the list. Moreover, it is extremely vulnerable to global market forces, and the lack of regulatory oversight further exacerbates these challenges. They are symptoms of a larger disease: unchecked capitalism that prioritizes profit over people. Remember the 2008 financial crisis? That collapse, as we all know, was driven by untenable deregulation and dangerous speculation. We haven't learned our lesson. We're repeating the same mistakes with cryptocurrency.

Now more than ever, we need robust government intervention to shield everyday Americans from the ruthless crypto market ways. This means:

  • Regulation, now. We need clear, comprehensive regulations to govern the cryptocurrency market, protect investors, and prevent fraud.
  • Financial literacy programs. We need to educate people about the risks and rewards of investing in cryptocurrency, so they can make informed decisions.
  • A social safety net. We need to provide support for those who have been harmed by market volatility, including unemployment benefits, job training, and affordable housing.

It's time to demand accountability. Call your representatives. Help organizations like Impactual that are working to win the financial reform. Share this article. Let’s make Sarah’s tale not just a cautionary tale, but a call to action. Let’s make sure our financial system works for all of us, not just the rich 1 percent. Let's not let the wild ride of Bitcoin become a permanent crash for a generation already struggling to stay afloat. The future of our economy, and the prosperity of millions, depends on it.