It had always been clear to me that Nigerians would struggle with crypto someday, but I wasn't expecting this soon. The news came as a shock not just to Nigeria but also to people across the world. When it comes to cryptocurrency, the presence and impact of Nigerians can't be overlooked, but the government isn't seeing this as something to be proud of but as a threat. I expected the Nigerian government to embrace crypto as a means to assist the economy, but unfortunately, the reverse is the case.
We all know how incompetent the government is, but what do we expect from old cargos and greedy men on the government seat who are visionless about the country? Minus their year-to-year budget, they can't see beyond what could happen to our economy in the next ten years and work on it ahead, and that's why growth has been impossible due to bad leadership. Even a yet-to-be born child knows, and putting a stop to the Binance operation just exposes how we underestimate their incompetence. It's weird for the Nigerian government to blame crypto as the cause of the naira devaluation and the untold hardship in our country today. I feel that the Nigerian government should look deeply for the root cause of the inflation and depletion of the naira and leave crypto out of it. They have done enough damage to young people already, and now that our Nigerian youth have embraced crypto for their livelihood by discovering P2P after the initial ban on crypto trading in Nigeria, they are out again to frustrate us, perhaps leaving many to succumb to crime since job opportunities for graduates are very difficult to secure, especially if you don't know or relate to any politician.
I woke up to the news about the Binance P2P ban by our government sometimes last week. I was unable to trade my crypto to fiat, and it got me worried. That day, I lost the appetite to continue my hive activities for a few hours. I was like, if I can't trade what I earn here, of what use is it? But then, my people kept researching and saw other exchanges where hive is listed and also exchanges that support naira P2P, of which one of them is bybit. I quickly downloaded the app, did my KYC verification, and traded. It wasn't a bad experience anyway, but Binance remains my first choice.
Binance is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, and currently, the Nigerian government is imposing a $10 billion fine on Binance as punishment for being the root cause of the depreciation of the naira in recent weeks. Can you imagine that? I see this as a big joke, and I doubt if Binance will answer them. Today's news has it that Binance is set to depeg the naira USDT trade and so advise anyone who has naira on the platform to convert it to other coins or fear losing it. Now my fear is that if our government succeeds in removing naira from Binance,how am I sure that these other exchanges we are currently using will last?.
Original image
Nigerian currency is not strong at the moment, and our government's stance on crypto is not favourable for the people. This is really affecting me. Imagine paying some fees to withdraw and, most times, selling at a cheaper rate. The Binance transaction was free and easy to use. Crypto is my major source of income currently, and I hope that our government can rethink and bring back our naira to Binance and other exchanges where they removed it from the list so we can continue our transactions in peace. At least it's been a big relief to many families who are into crypto in this harsh economy.
I feel for my fellow Nigerians, as the current exchange rate of naira to USD has been terrible and has brought untold hardship to the masses. Things are extremely expensive, bills are on the high side, and survival has been difficult. I have heard of the cases of some parents committing suicide due to their inability to feed their children, and they end their lives.
If there's a way some experienced economic analyst can open the eyes of our government to crypto and our economy, perhaps they will retrace their steps for the good of everyone.
This post is inspired by the #Hivelearners community and is also my entry to the #MarchInleo monthly topic about currencies around the world, exchanges. Please check out the announcement post to get involved.
