What’s Fuelling Bitcoin Adoption in Nigeria?
Bitcoin can be a humanitarian and an altruistic tool to restore Nigerians’ sovereignty and freedom.
*Below is an excerpt of the conversation between Abubakar Nur Khalil (Nigerian Bitcoin Core Developer) and Obi Nwosu (CEO and Founder of Fedimint). Here is the original article.
Photo credit: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona
Good morning, friends!
This week, my article “What’s Fuelling Bitcoin Adoption in Nigeria?” was published in Trezor’s blog. It explores how economic turbulence in Nigeria is fuelling bitcoin adoption in the country, how a community bitcoin wallet could help solve the bitcoin custody and security challenges that exist today, and of course, bitcoin’s bright future.
Below is an excerpt of the article, but I highly encourage you to read it all here.
Nigerians are Adopting Bitcoin
To protect their money in an adversarial environment, Nigerians are buying bitcoin. It is reported that one third of Nigerians have already invested in crypto. When you consider Nigeria’s population to be over 200 million, that number is astounding.
While bitcoin is an escape from currency devaluation, censorship, and violence for millions of Nigerians, bitcoin’s volatility still makes some feel apprehensive. That’s why the more cautious Nigerian prefers to tap into stablecoins before delving into bitcoin.
“For them, the price volatility is something that they simply cannot contend with, especially on a day-to-day basis. So, a lot of them flocked to stablecoins. And we kind of see this as a transitional medium for them to get comfortable with bitcoin and digital currencies in general. A lot of people are using stablecoins or bitcoin and often a combination of both.” Abubakar Nur Khalil (Nigerian Bitcoin Core Developer)
Be it stablecoins or bitcoin, what remains true is that Nigerians are taking economic empowerment into their own hands. Through bitcoin, they can access international markets thanks to its peer-to-peer, borderless, censorship-resistant nature. Meanwhile, Naira holders are bound to a withering market with very little hope of prosperity.
In 2021, the Nigerian government introduced the eNaira, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) (or government cryptocurrency). Nigerians were not quick nor eager to adopt the eNaira because they understood it was still the same centrally-controlled Naira.
“Nigerians also know that the eNaira is still the same Naira… So for them, it’s a case where they see no additional value of going to this rebranded Naira because it still has all these issues that they’re facing… It’s available on a couple of bank apps, but only a small portion of people actually use it — like folks in the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria). But everyone else is really still sticking to either dollars or bitcoin.” Abubakar Nur Khalil
The inability of CBDC’s to get widely adopted speaks volumes to the fact that there is a deep distrust of centrally-controlled currencies. Nigerians understand there are hundreds of currencies out there, but there is only one sound, global, decentralized, mathematical currency. And that is bitcoin.
You can read the whole article here or listen to the conversation here.
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Since being laid off a little over a month ago, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to contract with bitcoin-related brands while at the same time focus on The Misfit newsletter (which is my favourite thing to do!). My hope is to bring you really cool stories, ideas, lessons and get you thinking about your own freedom.
That’s it for now, friends! Please remember to take care of yourselves. Walk away from the screen and let life take you out for a spin. Serendipity is a wonderful gift.
Con mucho cariño (with a lot of affection),
— Ayelen xx
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