We Trust Systems With Our Lives — We Should Be Able to Trust Our Financial Markets Too

As an EMT, I know that trust is the backbone of any functioning system. We encounter community members on some of the worst days of their lives. In situations like these, trust is crucial. Our community has no choice but to believe that the ambulance will come, that the hospital is properly equipped, and that the system is built to protect them when something goes wrong.

As newlyweds, my wife and I are putting a similar level of trust in our financial system. We’re saving, investing when we can, and trying to make smart financial decisions so we can eventually buy a home, pay off student loans, and build security for our family. I’m not a Wall Street professional or a tech executive – I am only trying to make responsible decisions with the money we worked so hard to earn. 

Like many people our age, some of our investments include digital assets. For many of us, digital assets represent new opportunity. New technologies open doors for everyday investors, make markets more efficient and create new ways for people to build savings and wealth. This is why I care so deeply about how digital assets are regulated, and why I believe we need clear rules and basic investor protections in place to build the trust necessary for our digital asset market to be durable.

Right now, policymakers are debating how digital asset markets should be regulated. The question isn’t whether these markets should exist—they already do. The question is whether they will operate with clear rules, transparency, and accountability, or whether large parts of the market will operate without the basic safeguards that protect everyday investors.

But innovation without rules is not innovation that lasts. In medicine, new treatments still go through trials and oversight because people’s lives are at stake. In financial markets, people’s savings and futures are at risk, and that deserves the same level of seriousness.

For people like me, this isn’t an abstract policy debate. This is about whether regular people can participate in modern financial markets without worrying that the system is stacked against them or that bad actors can operate without oversight. It’s about whether a young couple saving for their future can invest with confidence instead of fear.

Basic safeguards like registration requirements, anti-fraud protections, and rules that ensure fair dealing in the marketplace make people comfortable participating in market in the first place. Without trust, markets don’t grow Without transparency, people stay on the sidelines. And when there are no rules, it’s usually everyday investors—not wealthy insiders—who get hurt the most.

I’ve chosen a career built around responsibility and protecting people when they are vulnerable, and I want our country to prioritize these same principles. When it comes to financial markets, everyday investors are often the most vulnerable participants. They deserve clear rules, transparent markets, and safeguards that protect their money, families and futures.

Because whether it’s in medicine or in markets, systems only work when people trust them. And trust is built on clear rules, accountability, and protections that put people first.