A baby in April means SheFi’s spring cohort is starting early—Feb 11—so I can wrap before birth. No scholarship sponsor this round, so we’re self-funding 2,009 scholars. But there’s still time to be the protocol we onboard them to. That could be you! Learn more & DM👇

On Friday night, while I was doing cooking dinner, @jonwu_ was scrolling through Twitter. Suddenly, mid-scroll, he said: “Trump launched a memecoin.” We both laughed at the ridiculousness of an incoming President being allowed to launch a memecoin. It’s an obvious pump-and-dump scam. His company owns 80 percent of the supply. But after the laughter died down, we looked at each other with complete seriousness and asked, “Should we buy it?” We know memecoins are gambling. On the other hand – if a memecoin truly was a representation of a viral moment or influential celebrity – who is more viral and influential than Donald Trump? Over the weekend, the token’s price skyrocketed. I was in disbelief, and a tiny voice of regret popped into my head, asking questions like: Why didn’t we make a big bet? What if we bet a lot? Could we have made life-changing money? Is it ok to make money on memecoins? Is it ok to make money on a Trump memecoin? And, most existential of all: Is this all that crypto is about? All over Twitter I saw stories of people cashing in their $TRUMP trades. That nagging voice in my head kept comparing myself to those “in the trenches.” I decided to check back in with myself. Meditate, do some grounding. Instead of asking why I didn’t bet more on a memecoin (a Trump coin, no less), I grabbed my journal and asked: Why did I join crypto, 7 years ago? It wasn’t to chase get-rich-quick schemes or gamble on inherently worthless assets. Crypto gives people real tools that they themselves can own to take control of their money and futures. I started SheFi because I believe women around the world deserve to take advantage of these tools. But permissionless finance is permissionless. Unlike the real world, if you put your money in something and it goes wrong, there isn’t someone there to protect you or revert the transaction. Even in markets that are rigged or that give advantage to insiders, the draw of making life changing money will never go away. And though memecoins exist, good things are still happening in crypto. I see it all the time in our community, like when we had an entire panel at SheFi Summit on how to use crypto for charitable donations. At the end of the day, it’s about focusing on the fundamental freedom-enabling technology–the ability for anyone to access global financial tools–that keeps me going. Because even in the chaos, crypto’s core promise—the power to take control of your financial future—is worth building for. And we need all of you to build it with us.