When it comes to Nigeria and the world of Crypto, it’s been quite a topsy-turvy world of late. Volatile and things have been unfolding at quite an alarming rate. But then, what can we do? So many things have happened within the last few years regarding crypto and this has either led to the wider acceptance of crypto or made people more skeptical about it.
But then, I guess that it’s a good thing crypto is here to stay. No matter what the world does or what issues arise due to government policies, there will always be something else to do, there will always be another option. That’s the beauty of cryptocurrency.
For Nigeria, it all started during the 2020 #Endsars protest. That’s when people realized just how freeing cryptocurrency was. Having total control over your money was one of the best feelings in the world. We realized the beauty of Web 3.0 and we went on. That’s when people started taking a major interest in it. As more people did, they chose to store their money in Crypto, which meant that fewer people were storing money in banks.
This became a problem, of course. Because, if we don’t save our money in banks, how then would the banks survive? So, something had to be done. Using the fallout of the Endsars protests as an excuse and ignoring the fact that it was hijacked by hoodlums, the government chose to ban crypto altogether. Citing it as the reason things had gone so awry.
Well, as you can guess, this wasn’t a great time for crypto traders in Nigeria and many of them lost out a great deal. A lot of trading platforms pulled out of Nigeria and as a result, many people had to rely on P2P and that was not always readily available. But then, things took an interesting turn when our dear government decided to come up with the e-naira, their version of crypto that will be pegged to the naira. Considering the fact that they banned crypto to stop the youths from using it to gain financial freedom and then wanted us to use the crypto that would still keep us under their control, it was no surprise when no one took it seriously. E-naira came with a came, but left quietly. Back then, I remember my bank’s mobile app used to promote it a lot, but somewhere along the way, I didn’t even notice when it stopped. As time passed though, the restrictions on crypto became a bit more relaxed. More platforms returned to Nigeria for operations. People continued trading and many of them continued saving up their funds. The go-to became USDT for a lot of people. Then, all this issue with the dollar against the naira started and suddenly, USDT became like the crypto-savior. If you want to save your money and watch it appreciate like mad, convert it into USDT. People made a lot of money during this period. As the dollar kept rising, so did the value of their money. But then, the naira kept on depreciating, sinking lower and lower against the naira, it was like clockwork. Every day, it sunk to newer depths, it was just terrifying. All this affected life in a way none of us could have expected. The price of things went so high that it was almost impossible to keep up. Then, the dollar vs naira war peaked at N1900+ and that was the height of it. I don’t know how they did their investigations, but the government chose to ban Binance, one of the most popular trading platforms in the country right now. They were cited as being responsible for the persistent depreciation of the naira against the dollar. There was a slew of other charges, but you get the gist. Later on, Binance came on to say that they would be working hand-in-hand with the Nigerian Government to help stabilize the naira. And suddenly, the naira crashed from that peak of N1900+ and came to settle down at around N1500+ where it has been ever since. There is still a lot of back and forth going on between Binance and the government, so far the platform was fined about N10bn in fines and I don’t know how these things will go just yet. So, what’s the current crypto news in my country? Well, you’re caught up right now. Our government has been fighting us on this for a long time and it’s just saddening. I wouldn’t lie, the depreciation of the naira against the dollar has also helped me because it also affects my earnings when I turn my Hive payouts into fiat. I just feel like going after Binance is not really going to change much. We’d just find some other platform. However, now that I think of it, it would make sense if we could get a decentralized platform to market these coins. Just as we have the Hive Market where you can trade hive and HBD easily, it would be great to have similar markets not controlled by any company or individual. So in a situation like this, there’s no one to go after because everyone is a member and an administrator. We’re all part of the spokes that make the wheel keep rolling. I’m happy to see that we in Nigeria are resilient. No matter what the government does or says, we’ll keep fighting and coming out on top. Crypto is here to stay, so I suggest that the government accept that as a fact and deal with it. It would be best to figure out a way where everyone wins. The government can join in this crypto fever as well, I’m sure they’ll be able to think of something. If we were all eating, everyone would be happy. But now that there’s no food in the land, and the little food we’ve got, you’re trying to take it from us, that’s just not good at all. They really need to sit up and do better. There is still a long way to go regarding crypto, and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come and everything I’ve learned so far. And I’m looking forward to everything else that is to come!
RDNE Stock Project
@stellageorge
Yo! Have you read my new paranormal thriller, Dreamers: The Awakening? What are you waiting for? Hurry on now to begin the explosive ride on Amazon KDP or Selar by clicking the image below!
