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As a Nigerian blogger and supporter of crypto, I’ve picked up on some troubling news recently. The Nigeria government planned on on restricting peer-to-peer digital currency exchange at the worst possible time for us, right in the middle of this bull run.
Over 13 million people have joined the crypto bandwagon in Nigeria alone. People got into this because it’s so easy to trade using platforms like Binance, Paxful, etc, where you can swap your digital coins through bank transfers. The ability to quickly switch between crypto and Naira has allowed many of us to explore what blockchain technology can offer.
For us bloggers based out here in Nigeria, crypto means much more than another stream of income or financial freedom alone.
Many Nigerian bloggers who use platforms like Hive (which rewards tokens) find themselves working over forty hours each week, they do their best by spending these long periods researching topics of interest before writing compelling articles designed not only garner comments but also stimulate conversation around them within their audience thereby keeping readers engaged throughout discussions prompted by said posts.
The work is great, but making ends meet is necessary for maintaining the continuity of effort. Many bloggers have turned their passion into small businesses through micro crypto payments. On average, Nigerian bloggers earn 50,000-100,000 NGN per month in various crypto via platforms like Hive. This income is significant for those who live in remote areas with few job opportunities and have to support families; it pays for necessities and gives them a chance to invest into their craft such as taking writing courses or self-publishing books. Some people have even started other businesses or financed their children's education using money earned from crypto.
If we can’t exchange our crypto for local currency how are we going to convert our hard work into cash? According to news in Nigeria there will only be a few cash points and when it comes time to withdraw whatever little crypto funds we’ve made from writing online this could create an issue. This may prevent us from earning anything off things created on the internet within our locality.
These limited cash points simply cannot handle the small, regular cash-ins we receive as bloggers. We would need to accumulate many months' worth of coins and incur substantial fees just to access our funds. This could negate any earnings we have made. Over time, this may dissuade new writers from joining platforms that payout in tiny amounts of crypto.
The scheduled prohibition on peer to peer exchanges places many bloggers' job in jeopardy. Those who depend on digital currency payments for reliable earnings will face substantial consequences if peer-to-peer trade websites disappear.
Banning peer-to-peer trading sites could ruin everything we’ve worked for. There aren’t many ways to turn virtual coins into real cash so platforms that give small amounts of money often are the only option; if they’re taken away, new writers might be discouraged and old writers may slack off on their posts too.
Our local writing world could fall apart over time, which means less resources for education. Without as many active bloggers around anymore, perspectives and skills will become more stale in posts across the internet. It might not seem like a big deal but this move could also put Nigeria behind in online money.
The ban doesn’t account for people who are new to digital currencies. For students or people with part-time jobs, using P2P trading platforms to experiment with small amounts of online money is an easy start. A lot of people have been able to get going by buying some BTC and trying out different apps from zero. However strictness is necessary, this growth would be prevented by banning outrightly.
Leaders should not completely ban but rather set wise regulations for their concerns. In order for digital currencies to function well with less fraud, they need strict measures such as monitoring transactions and educating investors. We will follow fair regulations but don’t want severe restrictions that kill an industry.
In the long run, this is a fight for the betterment of Nigerians when it comes to online money space. We talk hoping that the powers that be can come up with a solution which balances between the needs of users and policy makers alike. Let us not lose hope so fast.