Bitcoin Forum

In past years, the utilization of e-currency, making online  transactions, doing shopping and lots more has always been limited to some setting countries.

Some countries are like outcast when it comes to Using e-currently for online transactions, which is very common among the Africa continent, and a practical example is Nigeria.

I'm using Nigeria as a case study because this is where I'm from and I know how it feels to be rejected by some financial institutions, especially when they are the only hope you have, eg PayPal!

I have worked myself out in past years searching for how to make money on the internet, I've bought e-books, registered on website that requires you to pay some amount of money before you can start using their platform. But all these turn out to be a total waste of time and resources, because all the money made from these platforms I was never able to withdraw them, because PayPal will never accept my country. Everyday I pray for miracle to happen that will make PayPal to accept my country. But paypal never did! And I never gave up.

Not until the birth of Blockchain/Crypto! PayPal is scared of Crypto, it CEO and all other financial institutions both offline and online will try every means to label Crypto a scam and illegal, But the fact is that, Crypto is here to stay, Crypto is a  game changer, it an eye opener, I can do whatever I  want to do online now with help of blockchain without thinking twice!

God finally answered my prayers!

The full potential of blockchain is yet to be discovered, I urge every Crypto enthusiasts to be optimistic in their quest for utilizing the full potential of this great technology that we have in our disposal.


God blessed every Crypto evangelist.

Well I must say not everyone accept cryptocurrency as a medium of transaction so you can't say that your problems are solved cryptocurrency is still in it developing stages and still has to grow to be fully able to meet everyone needs.

You can't compare cryptocurrency to our traditional/financial institution simply because crypto is decentralized digital curre ncy and volatile and has a limited to do in different countries as a medium of payments. Also not all countries are now using crypto.

I think that it is impossible to compare them because they are completely different. I think that we need to weigh all pros and cons of each of them and choose the best one because there will be people who will prefer the same system we have now

I have a question for you OP, since you are from Nigeria. I'm curious how popular Bitcoin is in your country since here in the West we're used to hearing how poor the country is and seeing people riding in overcrowded, dusty, old busses and using old phones. How many people around you have the means to use cryptocurrencies daily (a decent phone with a good internet connection and how many are genuinely interested in cryptocurrencies, not only as a means of earning some easy money?

I think there is a mix up somewhere
Before they existence of crypto currency and the emergence to the world
The financial institutions ensured and gave master cards to every user who needs it
To fix online and international transactions

PayPal had to limit access to certain countries due to fraudulent activities
And crypto has accreditation issues in some countries due to money laundering

But still
Bitcoin, Blockchain technology is here to remain and heal the rift

The fact is that, Bad news spreadd easily and easily heard by people than the good news.

Nigerians using Old phones!

The fact is that An average Nigerian man will Rather use a mobile phone worth $100 than going for an iPhone of $1000, Will the iPhone put food in his table? $1000 is enough for someone to start a good business with in Nigeria.

Talking about using good or old busses, it's a matter of choice, which ever one you choose depends on what you can afford, they all have their prices.


The awareness and acceptance of cryptocurrency In Nigeria is nothing to be compared to with western World, yes Nigeria is still lagging behind, but we're optimist when it comes to embracing new technology, like that of the blockchain.

And talking about internet connectivity, every country has it own problem.

Crypto is now still on progress to continue developed and it advertises the utilization. Some Crypto users perhaps have same problems or histories as you, but not all are solved through Crypto currency. Therefore, you might not generalize that Crypto is a win solution for everyone problems. As we know that only several countries have legality of using Crypto as means payments. The most important think now is to support Crypto and also improve our personality, not only think about the rewards.

There is much more to Bitcoins/cryptocurrenies than an online money making  opportunity,it is an emerging asset class,actually designed either to be used as an alternative to fiats-atleast that was the original intent of Satoshi Nakamoto or satisfy specific functions. We await a future where different industries will be able address various problems using the blockchain. I don't think is that much behind as you seem to suggest. There is a rapid trend or interests in cryptocurrencies among the youth. Binance for example is putting a foot hold in Uganda, they won't do that if there were no market there. And I think Nigeria has successfully launched a couple of projects-Kora Networks for example

Cross-border transactions without intermediaries -- a beautiful example of how powerful Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are! I'm glad to hear you've found a better way. Paypal and other remittance services charge exorbitant fees for cross-border transfers, if they'll serve you at all.


Yes, but there is an active P2P market for BTC in Nigeria (https://localbitcoins.com/country/NG). There are also at least a handful of local exchanges according to Google. If he can get paid in BTC, he can sell them there for his local currency. If he gets paid in altcoins, he can exchange to bitcoins very easily online.

I know how that feel, in order to bought things online we were depend on PayPal and not all people want to accept PayPal payment, and it's very hard to set up PayPal account, and then crypto was created and everything become so easy, and of course some company that being jealous of crypto start to spread bad rumours about crypto, for now crypto still can't revealed all its potential due to the legalisation, when there is mass adoption, most of the people will choose crypto for payment, crypto is very useful as currency and investment

Yes, we are still i the early adoption stage of cryptocurrency and comparing it establish and big financial institution now is not likely relevant. But, the potential here is big that one day all fields  will be using blockchain technology, the technology behind this cryptocurrency. As supports grows on this new technology, one day this will become a significant and useful.

I remember reading that the Central Bank of Nigeria banned cryptocurrency - which is not surprising, since many banks are threatened by blockchain technology.

Interestingly enough, though, the decision was overturned by the Zimbabwe High Court.

https://unblock.net/zimbabwe-cryptocurrency-unban/

Wow, same is happening in India, we are at the hearing phase. Hope supreme court overturns the RBI decision.

we say words such as decentralized, boarder-less, censorship-resistant, offering privacy, no charge-back, secure, fast,... but unfortunately most people don't think about these concepts that deep unless it concerns them. these are very powerful characteristics that bitcoin has. and that is why it is so powerful and always growing unlike what newcomers think that bitcoin is on top because it was first!

OP is right about PayPal and its discriminatory tendency against certain countries. I am an African and this was one of the reasons I never got to render my services to fiverr.com. PayPal is one of the payment channels Fiverr adopts and my country is banned using that service. Hopefully, one day it will begin using the smooth crypto method of payment.


Nigeria is about the third country in Africa after South Africa and Kenya with meaningful cryptocurrency activities going on. There are platforms where crypto fans engage in trading and exchange of ideas in Nigeria. I agree that such activities may not be as widely circulated as we have in the Western world.


Yes, statistics show how poor and deplorable the country is because of its bad leadership and corruption. BTW, the "using old phones" isn't true. Nigerians are phone freaks. They would rather starve than use an outdated phones. An average Nigerian has two phones in spite of the lingering level of poverty in the country.

Do you really think cryptocurrency is an easy money?

This shows us the "evil" behind centralized authority and how these people "judge" whole countries, based on the actions of a smaller portion of that country. I have traveled to Nigeria before and I can tell you that not all people in that country are scammers and thieves and some other e-Currencies like M-Pesa is doing very well there.  ;)

A side note, Bitcoin is not a religion, it is just a currency.  :P  When you start talking about Bitcoin as a religion, people might think it is some kind of cult money.  ::)

The world at large suffers the same financial disorder. even the countries that claims that they have comfortable life and viable environment still have the Poor around them. homeless people, displaced people. the invention of the cryptocurrency will go a long way in changing a lot in our world but there are critics. 
 
Let’s take the past winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, for example. Initially, all of them were extremely critical of blockchain. Thaler, Krugman, Fama, Shiller, Stiglitz,Holmström… all said blockchain was a “bubble”, a “bad idea”, had no legal function, has no value, no adoption and will collapse.
 
But with every global financial crisis that seems to come in increasingly frequent cycles, and with every Nobel winner providing proof that we are headed for disaster on our current paths, it is becoming clearer that a solution is no longer desirable. It is needed. And needed now.

but they are queuing into the blockchain technology in a low key.  Most of the banks are introducing tokens on their online banking platforms. they claimed that you can used this earned tokens for activities online like shopping,etc. the tokens is earn depending on the online banking utilization.

Thanks for your input, I hope you enjoyed your stay during your time of of visit to Nigeria?

I am sorry to hear, that you had faced so many issues, trying to make money using Internet. But, you should have done some reseach using Google and you could have found thousands of ways to make money on the Internet. Through your post my understanding was that there is only one payment processor that you are aware of and that was Paypal. There are tons that work in Nigeria. For example PayU, Western Union, Payoneer and etc Most of the Internet earning based companies do offer these option apart from Paypal.


Everyone who has been into Cryptos knows that it here to stay and is disrupting the way financial giants were working. This is a known fact.

I still did not understand what you meant in this post?

Cryptocurrency is the future. It has gained acceptance all over the world. The recent announcement of Rakuten acknowledging Bitcoin is a big step towards achieving cryptocurrency's full potential.

If you don't understand anything in this post, sorry for I can't say much! Because it's quite clear that you have problems in understanding things.
That's if you will ever come back to this thread again!

There is no sense in comparison of crypto coins with the traditional financial instituitions. Because they both are two different worlds. While crypto is new and trending, it is the most used investment option these days. Traditional finance instituitons come up with a whole different range of equity and debt instruments which are different from this virtual world that has led to emergence of decentralized economy. In fact both these different worlds have their own benefits. There's risk prevelant in each n every form of investment. So the risk factor is the common. What varies is the degree of risk.

Same. I also find comparing cryptocurrency to our traditional/financial institution since these two work in different ways. And the similarities between these two things are you can buy things with these things and convert the other one to the other.

yes, I agree with you. It is waste our time to compare cryptocurrency to our ttraditional/ financial institution. Both of it have its own character, we should see its future and how it develop

I felt it when paypal was the only hope I have and I been denied with it? ITs the most frustrating of all tragedy that had happen to me. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency is the answer. No one can block nor deny you. This is the most amazing of all invention of all times that it can be used not just in crypto but for almost everything. It may take time before the adoption of this technology but its all coming soon.

cryptocurrency needs to be converted to our present currency before we can use it while in our traditional it can be accepted whenever you use it to pay whatever you purchases

I think crypto and blockchain is an eye opener truly and has break the barrier of delay and high fees of sending money of receive form any where in the world and that has been the major reason we have seen lot of the big boys going against it for time being,
But blockchain is here to stay but traditional currency still have its own role too and can't be eradicate.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are based on the blockchain technology which relies on the principle of decentralization. Whereas the traditional infrastructure is based on centralisation philosophy that means we have to rely on the third party in this case. That's why comparing the end user technology doesn't make any sense unless we are comparing the utility value of the cost of the process of transferring funds from one point to another.

Yes, crypto is really different from any other kind of payment system. Crypto is still young and many things will have to change in the long run and we just have to support it.

Honestly, it's only those that has previously been affected by our traditional/financial institutions like PayPal, that will understand and appreciate the relief blockchain technology has brought the their lives, I'm a partaker of these benefits of blockchain technology.

It's clear that must nation are yet to utilize the benefits of blockchain technology, but that doesn't mean we should not  share our positive testimonies.

An ungrateful is likewise to be unfaithful.
I'm faithful to blockchain quest....

from your story that I see it looks like you have found the biggest achievement in terms of transactions in your country, and hopefully crypto gets a wider response because like the experience you told me this shows that crypto has a tremendous advantage for every user.

Interesting thread. We in the west take many things for granted while others in the world
struggle with what we may consider the basics.

The OP has given a first hand example of how crypto is helping him in his life when he/she
can not access some of our basics.

Congratulation because God hear your prayers. It's  good to hear that crptocurrency really touch the lives of common people. Currently,  Paypal's the profit was cut down because of cryptocurrency. Even banks tried to suppress it to the point where they will close your account because of crypto transactions but they will not succeed because crypto cannot be stop.

The truth is that Cryptocurrency is really a game changer. Not too quite long a time, I wasn't able to use paypal because of the ban placed on my country here, but since the entrance of cryptocurrency into the global market, it has really provided a way and a window of opportunities for those who  make their money online and rely on some of these platforms that thing they are the God of the world. And this is really a welcome development. We can't be in 2018 and live like we are in 1854 where there is only a boring stereotype of system of operation. So really, cryptocurrency has come  to change the old way to a more widely accepted way of doing things.

Of course i will never compare cryptocurrency to our traditional and finacial institution it is because we are now in the new era of the advancement of technology.

I guess, it is too early to compare them, because c-currency is at the start of its own way but use of e-currency has been in progress for decades. c-currency may become superior and can be used for online transactions, shopping, and other uses. Also, it is an advantage for c-currency that use of e-currecy in developing countries is very limited. Although it is in its developing step, c-currency is a candidate in order to be fully able to meet everyone needs.

I'm really glad that you finally found a way to exist liberally in the digital space through cryptocurrency.

Perhaps, this is one (among many others) characteristic of cryptocurrency that we all should be thankful for; being permission-less. Well of course, should the country decide to ban the usage of crypto then that will be another story. But really, bitcoin broke the barrier of countries when it comes to payment and transactions. It was really out of this world, an effective currency system that does not care whether you're from Europe, Africa or wherever part of the world. It did not set boundaries, everyone was welcome to utilize its technological offering.

That is why i also find it hard to compare cryptocurrency with traditional financial institutions, as both sports an economy of their own separately.

You are right, however, for a long time, banking and non-banking financial institutions began to produce online products and services that intersect with digital money. Therefore, today, when fiat money transactions are carried out online, like digital ones, the difference between them isn't so big anymore.

This write up is true and typical of paypal they really frustrated a lot African from doing business online. Eventually when the finally accepts some African countries they were only allowed to make payment and never to withdraw using PayPal. With the advent of blockchain all those wickedness have changed and the African now have a choice and to hell with Paypal, payzaa and the rest that were mocking Africans from not doing business online. Almighty blcockchain backing bitcoin is the rescue.No more pranks with African dealing on line transaction  thanks to Blockchain and crypto.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency will definitely is a game changer for financial problems. Just as you mentioned, there are some terms and conditions to meet before you can open a bank account or store your money to them. Banks gives you restrictions on how you can store or use your funds where technically, it was your hard earned money. Cryptocurrency will give you full control of your money, use it anonymously, freely and also gives you a favorable return of investment. Cryptocurrency is the biggest competitor and a threat to the bank and they will definitely give cryptocurrency a hard time to get this regulated.

each country has its own policy to implement e-currency. so you have to be wise in seeing this. You must continue to increase your knowledge so that you can use various types of technology, especially in the digital economy. so that, when your country legalizes all digital trade activities, you already understand it all.

I completely agree with you... The gigantic steps the blockchain and bitcoin has taken in recent times has made it easier for some countries to freely trade globally... Unlike the traditional systems where the banks or PayPal comes with plenty restrictions and unfair policies.. Indeed, blockchain is here to stay.

Because bitcoin has many advantages, such as transaction speed, increased security and low commission fees. You can make purchases and pay for goods or services around the world without going to the bank. Certainly worthy of a lot to learn.

All calculations will be in the crypt, without Fiat at all as such. The black market will be built in the beginning, in Russia for sure, because they banned and not only that banned, but also recognized the pyramid.

Thanks for bringing this up. Cryptocurrency is here to solve this problem of rejection. Now, you may no longer have to be at the mercy of PayPal anymore because you will have several other options at your disposal. They can only  hate on cryptocurrency but cryptocurrency will outshine them.

yeah you're right, crypto just need more socializations and more promotions so people can adopt it from all around the world !

yes a good question - why this post. negative experience, or you want to say waiting for the development of crypto in the world without restrictions, in which case I have the same opinion,

I also agree - a kind of struggle with the banking system - which controls, and simply robs people - if it has outlived itself easier ... the world needs crypto - it is transparently understandable - the most important thing is publicly available - and at the initial stages I think everyone can make money here

A significant aspect of crypto is still a breakthrough technology - which will allow people all over the world to control their incomes themselves, of course, everything has its difficulties in everything new, many people have misunderstandings - all states are trying to control crypto - to solve taxes in any way - but that attempts anyway from the authorities on this interval

frankly speaking - the general mass of people are not yet ready to accept crypto into their lives. the old stereotypes — inspired by us for so long — work; it's not easy for people to get rid of them. but I believe - and I do it myself, that sooner or later everyone will accept crypto like me

So you only need to believe that what you want in your pray will become a reality. We are now in the digital era, and soon, all country will use all the digital technology and this mean, cryptocurrency can be accepted in all country unless the government is not ready with the change for the new era. Without receiving something new, that country cannot grow to a better country, and they will stay behind the other country.

It happens in the past that crypto currencies were used for limited transaction by limited people and we can generalize it to every one, So we can not compare it with traditional Institutions because these have involved the middle man in the form of Internet and transactions is private and personal so cost is also less and affordable for every one.

Basically,both are two different categories and cant be compared as both have got their own pros and cons.Crypto space is more of decentralised nature whereas the banks are of centralised nature thereby giving more opportunities/facilities to people , some countries have still no access to crypto space due to no regulation existing there making it more comfort for the banks .We could see some regulation in place for crypto space in the near future ,then we can have some comparison in the near future.

You spoke properly about one aspect of crypto and Paypal. But transaction costs are a matter of concern and crypto can solve that problem better than Paypal.

You know you don't necessarily need to spam this thread before your input to be applaud, you can actually sum up all these comments  in one single post.

I don't know which of your questions needs replying now

I think it is not possible to compare cryptocurrency to our traditional/financial institution because crypto is digital and decentralized currency and there are many limitations on
it. Every country not accepted crypto.

you are right, and I agree with your argument, many primitive financial institutions that provide crypto platforms, even now, some world companies provide crypto services, the meaning is, that now the public demand for cryptocurrencies is greater.

With the help of decentralization, we can overcome some troubles that centralization causes. Paypal could control your money. Paypal could block your money. In other word, Paypal can steal your money easily whenever they want. When the system becomes decentralized, the problem is solved. But there is still a problem. There are many platforms like most of the exchanges that are centralized and can block your money. There are also many efforts by governments to make such platforms centralized.