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- Batting for acceptance of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrency in Nigeria
- Nigeria is the biggest crypto market in African continent
Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO never hesitates to cross swords with the ruling elite. Something similar is happening in Nigeria where the ruling class that is seen to be out-of-touch is at loggerheads with the country’s tech-savvy youths. Jack Dorsay’s Twitter platform is being used to garner support for social causes. Last year the social media platform was vital in galvanizing support for #EndSars protests, which started off as a movement against police brutality and soon metamorphosed into a confrontation between the ruling political class and Nigeria’s youth.
Jack Dorsey an avowed cryptocurrency fan
Jack Dorsey, who has been a vociferous supporter of cryptocurrency has been advocating the acceptance of Bitcoin in Nigeria. Cryptocurrency is increasing in popularity in Africa. Most of the African States are ruled by despots and corruption is rampant. The value of native or fiat currency has plummeted and people find cryptocurrencies an attractive option for maintaining the value of their assets. The value of Nigerian Naira has plummeted and today the nation has become the largest cryptocurrency market in the African subcontinent.
Cryptocurrencies targeted
High inflation and a weak national currency have forced millions in the oil rich nation towards cryptocurrencies. Faith Babafemi, a cryptocurrencies expert in the capital Lagos, feels that cryptocurrencies are one of the other forms of money which will help Nigerians to save, invest and hedge. Faith added that Nigeria cryptocurrencies market is quite large to accommodate services like trading which Jack Dorsey’s financial app can provide.
Regulations have little effects and crypto trade continue to flourish
However, like in many other countries, cryptocurrency trade in Nigeria is under regulation after the Central Bank placed restrictions in February. The Nigerian Government put crypto currency trade under regulation. The move was precipitated by the growing acceptance of cryptocurrency . The Government also barred financial institutions from dealing in cryptocurrency trade. However the regulation had little effect and investors continue to invest in cryptocurrency bypassing the financial institutions.
Cryptocurrency Regulation and Twitter Ban two sides of the same coin
Twitter was banned in Nigeria after a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari, 78, was deleted. However the people found ways to get around the ban. Much to the chagrin of the ruling elite, people have found ways to get around the cryptocurrency regulations. Senator Ihenyen, head of Nigeria’s blockchain and cryptocurrencies association feels that the ban on Twitter and the cryptocurrency regulations are being enforced by the fear in the ruling elite-How much freedom can the Nigerian enjoy on the Internet.
Jack Dorsey could be forwarding his own interests
Jack Dorsey’s love for Nigeria and cryptocurrency is also being dubbed by skeptics as a clever ploy to advance his business interests. Skeptics point out that he had ignored Nigeria and instead made Twitter’s Africa headquarters in Ghana. There could be some truth in this since Nigeria’s former Finance Minister and current WTO chief , Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had also previously served on Twitter’s board. Uche Adegbite,A prominent Nigerian is among the social media giant’s senior directors.
Many Nigerians view Jack Dorsey as a hero and adore his ideals of open internet, freedom of expression and economic freedom. These views are not taken positively by the ruling elite which see an erosion of their power and influence.
Dorsey is not intimidated by the ban and kept tweeting about Nigeria and has captivated many here. On June 12 when protests were held across the nation marking Democracy Day Dorsey tweeted the Nigerian flag with an emoji of a handshake and “#bitcoin”. Next day he again tweeted calling for the Nigerian government to pursue a Bitcoin standard. Some analysts say this shows Mr Dorsey is a shrewd businessman looking after his interests. Jack Dorsey is also the creator of Square and Cash App, two payment processing platforms with interests in cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
