Balaji Srinivasan urges crypto developers to build tools for refugees and stateless people as global conflicts rise and access to banks becomes harder.
Former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan asked the crypto industry to build better tools for refugees. He said more people may lose access to banks due to wars and migration. Therefore, digital assets and blockchains could help them keep their money safe. His comments were made in a recent X post.
Balaji Srinivasan says crypto can help people during war and migration
Balaji Srinivasan said Global conflicts are growing every year. Because of this, more people are abandoning their homes. He said Ukrainians fleeing the war and people working in the Gulf countries are fleeing the war. He also considered the fact that migration can occur to any social class.
It’s very unfortunate that crypto is a great solution for refugees who are stateless and forced to interact with crumbling institutions and payment rails, but nobody in crypto builds for refugees because they’re not useful consumers for gambling https://t.co/aTHmkVSK8L
— andi (twocents.com) (@Nexuist) March 14, 2026
He said that many refugees lose access to banks and payment systems. When this occurs, they are unable to move money easily. Therefore, decentralized finance tools have the potential to become very important. Crypto wallets can function without banks, and people are able to control their money.
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Srinivasan said developers do not have to make special tools just for war. Rather, they should develop powerful tools for everyday use. If systems work well in normal times, they will also work in times of crises. Because of this idea, he referred to crypto as a system designed for “wartime mode” on the internet.
Public blockchains were designed in a way that they remain active even in the case of an attack. They can continue to run in the event of server failures or network failures. Therefore, people can even send money under difficult conditions. Srinivasan said this reliability makes crypto useful for refugees.
He likened crypto tools to messaging apps that work everywhere. For instance, applications such as Signal and Signal work in poor regions and weak networks. Since they work in hard conditions, they also work in rich countries. He said financial tools should work on the same idea.
Stablecoins and blockchain seen as future tools for financial independence
Srinivasan said that around the world, stablecoins are becoming commonplace. These digital tokens are able to maintain stable value and can be easily sent over the internet. Because of this, there is no need for banks for refugees to store money. Some stablecoins are also backed by gold, which provides more trust to the users.
He said stateless people usually lose identity documents and accounts. However, the use of a blockchain wallet can store both money and digital identity. This makes it possible for people to demonstrate their ownership even when they migrate to another country. Therefore, with crypto, financial independence is possible.
He also said that traditional institutions might fail during conflicts. Banks can go out of business, however, and governments can freeze accounts. When this occurs, people can lose their savings. Since blockchains are global networks, even if one country has issues, the network can keep working.
Srinivasan thinks that the crypto industry should prepare for this future. He said the development of reliable tools now will be helpful for millions in the future. As wars and migration drive up the number of people possibly relying on digital finance. For this reason, he called upon the developers to develop simple, secure, and global crypto systems.
