Losing a job doesn't define your worth as a professional. Right now, we're seeing unemployment hit 4.4% nationwide—the highest it's been in years. But here's what really stands out: the gap persists. Black workers face a 7.5% jobless rate, nearly double the national average. These aren't just numbers on a chart. They're signals about structural challenges in the labor market that ripple through every sector, including how people engage with digital assets and decentralized finance. When traditional systems show cracks like this, alternative economic models start looking more relevant.