Trump's recent executive order dismantling the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) might sound like a win for crypto freedom, but let's be real: it's a gut punch to Gen Z's financial future. It feels a bit like throwing a generation already getting eaten by the wolves of student debt and an untenable job market to the wolves.
Empty Promises, Real-World Risks
Trump's "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology" sounds impressive, right? When you slice through all the PR nonsense, the truth is pretty obvious. This policy places unlimited crypto innovation over real investor protection. It’s like taking all the speed limits off a highway and then patting ourselves on the back for giving people “freedom of movement.” Of course, some folks, especially in their own cars, will get where they’re going fast. For every success, many more will have failures and setbacks.
And who’s going to be driving the ship when the crypto market crashes and burns? Gen Z. After all, they’re the world’s first digital natives, the generation most at ease with digital assets. They’re the ones with the least financial wherewithal and the least arsenal of tools to rebound from an incalculably bad loss.
Scams Target The Young & Naive
Do you believe that “get rich quick” crypto scams are pretty harmless, internet kooks? Think again. They’re cloaked predators supercharged by AI, weaponized to exploit the vulnerable—and Gen Z is the perfect mark.
Remember that Dogecoin craze? Or the endless parade of celebrity-endorsed NFTs? These are indeed the fertile grounds for scams, pump-and-dump schemes, and outright fraud. As long as no dedicated enforcement team exists, such as the NCET, these criminals will continue to act with impunity. The SEC's new "Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit" is a start, but it's like sending a Boy Scout to fight a tank.
Do you seriously think that the average 20-something has the resources to navigate the complexities of blockchain technology and identify sophisticated scams? They're more likely to get rekt.
Deregulation = Market Manipulation
To be sure, the DoJ’s move away from “regulation by prosecution” is a welcome change, for now. Let's be honest: in the Wild West of crypto, some regulation is necessary to prevent the market from being rigged by insiders.
Without strong enforcement, whales can manipulate prices, exchanges can operate with impunity, and ordinary investors are left holding the bag. We’ve seen this movie play out in tradfi over many decades. Instead, now, it’s playing out in a digital space that’s much harder to regulate. And who suffers the most? These are the small-time investors, the ones least able to afford to lose their life-savings. Gen Z.
Innovation At What Cost?
While Trump’s team tries to spin this move as something that will promote innovation, Okay, great. But innovation…to what end? Innovation that merely enriches privileged crypto insiders, or innovation that’s actually valuable to society?
Let's be clear: dismantling the NCET isn't about promoting innovation. It's about appeasing powerful interests who want to operate outside the bounds of the law. It’s putting short-term budgetary whims ahead of the long-term financial wellness of an entire generation. It’s the equivalence of arguing that we need more deadly pollution in order to create jobs. Okay, fine it may provide some relief in the short run, but the long term impact is catastrophic.
Forgotten Voices, Future Regrets
Gen Z's voice is being drowned out. They are the future, and their financial success is key to a prosperous economy. Trump’s current crypto policy completely misses their needs and exposes them to unacceptable risk.
The long-term impacts of this ruling could be disastrous. Instead, a generation is being scarred by crypto scams. This has led to many being jaded by the financial system and therefore less inclined to save for their own future. Is that really the legacy we want to bequeath?
This isn’t even a crypto issue, but a larger one of fairness and opportunity and protecting the vulnerable. Even more so, it’s protecting the rights of Gen Z to have a fighting chance to achieve a secure financial future. If we care about these issues, it’s time to raise hell and demand much more. Don’t let Trump’s crypto gamble bankrupt a generation.
Knowledge isn’t enough, so here’s what we’re doing. We need to act. Call on regulators to impose stricter rules, arm yourselves and your fellow students with knowledge about the dangers of crypto, and demand more from our elected leaders. As the financial well-being of Gen Z takes shape, their financial futures depend on it.
