Only 29% of Americans now view leading professions as highly ethical—hitting a record low. That's a striking number.

Think about what's driving this. Trust in institutions has been eroding for years. Whether it's banking, law, medicine, or politics, skepticism runs deep. People are questioning whether those in positions of authority actually have the public's interest in mind.

This backdrop matters when we talk about financial systems. Traditional institutions managed money for decades on the promise of transparency and ethics. Yet repeated scandals, conflicts of interest, and opacity have worn that credibility thin.

That's the real context for why alternatives are gaining traction. When institutional trust collapses, people start looking for systems that don't rely on trusting a central authority—systems built on verifiable, tamper-proof mechanisms instead.

Whether it's blockchain, decentralized platforms, or other models, the common thread is the same: remove the human gatekeepers, enable direct verification. It's not about being anti-establishment; it's about building systems where trust isn't required because you can audit the code yourself.

The 29% figure is just data. But what it really shows is a civilization-scale shift in how people think about reliability and accountability.