Tech investor and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan called on the crypto industry to build financial tools for refugees and stateless people. His argument is direct: as conflict and economic disruption spread, more displaced people are losing access to bank accounts, payment rails, and even the financial identity needed to use traditional systems.
In a recent social media post, he wrote, “We should build more crypto tools for refugees and stateless people. Because there may unfortunately be many more refugees and stateless people…and from all social classes. Ukrainians leaving the war. Californians leaving the state. Gulf workers leaving the missiles.”
Public blockchains and stablecoins as fallback infrastructure
Srinivasan said public blockchain networks and stablecoins — digital assets designed to maintain a steady value — can serve as an alternative way to store and transfer money when conventional infrastructure breaks down. For people forced to move across borders, that matters. Access to funds may no longer depend entirely on local banks, credit histories, or government-issued identification.
He also argued that products built for normal consumer use may already be suitable for crisis conditions without major redesign. “Doesn’t necessarily mean huge design changes. If you build convenient consumer tools for millions that work in peacetime, then they’ll often be robust enough to work in wartime.”
Why resilience is central to the case
For Srinivasan, the strength of decentralized systems lies in their resilience. He wrote, “Because crypto is wartime mode, but for the Internet. Public blockchains were created to resist datacenter attacks, hacks, and network blocks.” That framing links crypto infrastructure to a specific problem faced by displaced populations: once people lose homes, documents, and local banking access, open networks may still remain reachable.
He added that what the sector needs are tools that are scalable and reliable, not just theoretical solutions. In his words, “It’s simply enlightened self-interest to build scalable, reliable tools. For example: Signal works for poor people in poor countries in poor conditions, so it’ll likely work for you.”
Stablecoins already showing broad utility
Among existing crypto products, Srinivasan pointed to stablecoins as the closest match for this level of practical use. He said, “Stablecoins are actually getting to this level of ubiquity in crypto, and already making a real dent globally, including the new gold-backed varieties. But we can do more.” That places stablecoins near the center of the discussion around cross-border payments and emergency access to value.
The comments come as global displacement continues to rise. The source article notes that wars, political instability, and economic pressure are pushing millions to relocate, often without dependable access to money or payments. Srinivasan cast the development of cross-border blockchain payment tools as more than a business opportunity; he described it as a humanitarian need tied to the growing demand for digital assets that can move value across jurisdictions.
The report also points to intensifying geopolitical tensions in recent years, including the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia and a fast-escalating conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, with Gulf states pulled into the instability. In that setting, crypto tools for cross-border transfers, on-chain value storage, and stable payments are being discussed in a far more immediate context.