The impact of exchanges and payment gateways to Bitcoin adoption in NIG/CAR

[Odusko]

                  INTRODUCTION
There is no doubt in the fact that exchange and other Bitcoin payment gateways have contributed 80% to Bitcoin adoption globally and 150% in African countries.

This thread is aimed at the contribution of cryptocurrency exchange and payments gateways in Africa a case study of Nigeria and the Central Africa Republic.

                                 THESIS
1: NIGERIA

The impact of cryptocurrency exchange and other Bitcoin payment gateway in cryptocurrency adoption in Africa and Nigeria the African most populous country and biggest economy in Africa, which rank the highest in cryptocurrency trading and highest in Bitcoin adoption majorly among the youths. Even though the Nigerian central bank stopped banks from providing Bitcoin-related services, exchanges like Binance and other payment gateways like Luno, Patricia, and Remitano have continually provided a platform for Nigerians to get involved with Bitcoin trading which participates in a reduction in youth dependency on the government thereby reducing the impact of unemployment on the youths and the government as a large number of employable youths now find alternative sources of income in Bitcoin trading and other cryptocurrency businesses.


2: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The Central Africa Republic is the second country to make Bitcoin a legal tender second to el Salvador and has a relatively positive mindset towards Bitcoin and the invention surrounding Bitcoin development and how to work around it to see more economic and alternative financial ecosystem that will allow small and large scale businesses in the country.
The country has a low internet penetration of about 11% and a low electricity supply of about 14% this factor has made the economic conditions of the citizens to be below the poverty level, and have turned to a global economic tool like Bitcoin as an alternative. And mostly the unemployed youths are largely involved in Bitcoin trading on major cryptocurrency exchanges and p2p platform.

[franky1]

the important thing to note

dont use exchanges as stores of value(like a bank account) treat them as just a gateway between fiat(government currency) and cryptocurrency.
where you then put your cryptocurrency into a wallet where you control the keys

treating a exchange as a bank, might seem as an easy thing, but it just ends up being a system of following their policies, much like following government rules. where they can lock your accounts and give you headaches trying to withdraw your value if you breach their rules.

so treat exchanges as gateways. not bank accounts
that said
without good easy access methods to swap fiat with cryptocurrency. yes adoption of cryptocurrency would not be growing as quickly

that said when i last visited africa. i did see a few 'kiosk's of people swapping currencies hand to hand. which is a more popular and common sight to see in africa compared to the banking systems of UK/US

i can see the use of kiosks growing and many setting up their own kiosks.
whereby those without bank accounts dont need a bank account to then use an exchange to then get cryptocurrency to then move to your own wallet

instead those without a bank account hand over paper cash to the kiosk and the kiosk puts cryptocurrency on that persons wallet.
where its the kiosk operate that uses his/her(kiosk owner) bank account to refill their own cryptocurrency reserves that they then tender to their kiosk customers

[Odusko]

treat exchanges as gateways. not bank accounts

Exactly and to note that the exchange work with your bank even though trades in most exchange require you to make a transfer from your bank account, so users already know that exchange and banks only serve as a bus stop where our trades are made and if one needs a highly secured storage of asset and money it should be on a cold hot wallet or good online wallet with key phrase store personally.
Exchange is a marketplace where our trade/payments are made and verified.

[OcTradism]

You can trade in person but it is very risky. I don't trade personally like that. When you meet a person in real life, for crypto trading, a lot of risk.

There are platforms for peer-to-peer tradings, with Escrow for safety of both trader sides.

Payment methods are very diversify and with peer to peer trading platforms, you don't have to worry that banks will know you are doing cryptocurrency tradings.

Banks can not arbitrarily block your bank account or just based on a request from one side, likely your trade partner, a scammer want to attack you personally.

[Accardo]

Like Franky1 said; they should be careful with storing funds on exchanges, referring to the period binance banned Nigerian accounts, many traders lost money. Africans love to use cryptocurrency and the adoption is increasing in the region but, many trade on exchanges for quick money and some know little about trading that's why they store funds on exchanges as they feel its secure. But given time, practice makes perfect, they'll learn to trade better and make profits. On the other hand, cryptocurrency scam, which is also an impact, is increasing in Africa alongside the adoption. Some peer2peer traders who advertise on social Media platforms like Instagram fail to deliver funds to customers, and they is no means of tracing them. Therefore, Africans are advised not to adopt crypto with shallow experience, they are multiple victims everyday on social media platforms especially on telegram complaining about being ripped of their funds due to selfish interest, invest $100 to get $1000 kind of con keeps recurring on daily basis.

[franky1]

You can trade in person but it is very risky. I don't trade personally like that. When you meet a person in real life, for crypto trading, a lot of risk.

meeting a complete stranger and handing them a suitcase of cash is a big no no.  no one should ever do such
but i have seen merchant kiosks, i have seen established 'meetups' where regular people meet and get to know each other and all trades are done in the venue(coffee shop/bar) where the trades are witnessed by a few people. much like playing poker with a group of people where everyone ends up trusting each other because they know they cant get away with cheating another person with other people there.

and as for the kiosks they are more professional. not a pop-up- shop that disappears the next day, but a service location thats there all year round and would earn a bad reputation if it cheated customers

so its a case of using common sense and caution when it comes to hand-to-hand swaps

There are platforms for peer-to-peer tradings, with Escrow for safety of both trader sides.

the issue with these platforms both peer to peer and central exchanges. is the banking ability to freeze money. or for some to perform "chargeback" scams
where they deposit money. wait for the timedelays release of coin. take the coin out.
and then phone their bank and pretend their account got hacked and ask for a refurn of funds.
this alone has caused the most havoc for peer-to-peer trading platforms (localbitcoins years ago had alots of reports of this) where by those selling coin lost out alot even with a escrow

the other thing to note is that when lots of chargeback scammers used to do this with central exchanges. all these 'we been hacked' customers ended up having banks up the exchanges on a red flag risk for in banks minds having the the central exchanges receiving stolen funds enmasse
and this became in the early days the main reasons accounts where being shut down for associating with exchanges.

exchanges ofcourse then legitimised themselves to prove it was not their fault and implemented strict KYC to prove the customer doing the money transfer was the account owner so that the banks were not as easy to beleive scammers lies.
whihc is why central exchanges have now been able to survive and operate better with banks

but for people without a bank account in africa. the easier option is to find these trusted kiosks/meetups and not just find some random stranger they hve never seen nor will ever see again.

Payment methods are very diversify and with peer to peer trading platforms, you don't have to worry that banks will know you are doing cryptocurrency tradings.

Banks can not arbitrarily block your bank account or just based on a request from one side, likely your trade partner, a scammer want to attack you personally.

you buying bitcoin easy..
but for those selling bitcoin.. well.. its not as you think

receiving lots of small amounts from lots of people.. does raise a red flag with your banks. especially if your using a personal bank account. yet transacting as of you are a business.
you wil find many bitcoin sellers on defi/p2p platforms who get lots of fiat randomly . end up having to register as a business and hen register as a money service business to then do KYC.. or simply ask for KYC before doing any business/regulatory registration simply so they can prove to their bank that the funds are from genuine account holders sending funds and not hackers.

but.. in bitcoin buyers eyes they dont care about what bitcoin sellers have to do or end up having headaches over later on. as long as the buyer can buy some coin from one guy.. and never care again. and just find someone else to buy from if the first guy has issues, disappears. .. basically a 'doesnt affect me so not my concern' selfish attitude

which for now works fine for defi/p2p. but just like how localbitcoins slowly degraded.. so wil defi-p2p. for the exact same reasons

[CryptoHeadlineNews]

Even though the Nigerian central bank stopped banks from providing Bitcoin-related services, exchanges like Binance and other payment gateways like Luno, Patricia, and Remitano have continually provided a platform for Nigerians to get involved with Bitcoin trading

Yes. i totally agree with this statement of yours, because looking at the limitations place on most bank cards, these exchanges happens to be the most common medium used to own Bitcoin by crypto lovers in Africa, of which a user could either be using one or more of these exchanges listed above, to enable easy conversion, buying and selling of crypto into fiat whenever needed without stress, using the peer2peer system they all offers. But just that they are centralized exchanges, which means you don't have total control over your funds, but yet the best and reliable way to start your crypto journey for people living in these part of African region (Nigeria & Central African Republic)

[348Judah]

There is no doubt in the fact that exchange and other Bitcoin payment gateways have contributed 80% to Bitcoin adoption globally and 150% in African countries.

where is the oink to ascertain this fact or assumption? remember anyone can just come up with anything from anywhere with a baseless fact.

The impact of cryptocurrency exchange and other Bitcoin payment gateway in cryptocurrency adoption in Africa and Nigeria the African most populous country and biggest economy in Africa, which rank the highest in cryptocurrency trading and highest in Bitcoin adoption majorly among the youths

i think we all know about this, anything more latest than this which is common with African countries.

Even though the Nigerian central bank stopped banks from providing Bitcoin-related services, exchanges like Binance and other payment gateways like Luno, Patricia, and Remitano have continually provided a platform for Nigerians to get involved with Bitcoin trading

Accept this ad it is not meant for an attack but rather the fact, Nigeria is not the only country with such encounter, not even the African countries alone but everywhere all over the world has such challenges with government, people make use of exchanges to trade and overcome some of this embargoes using p2p.

The Central Africa Republic is the second country to make Bitcoin a legal tender second to el Salvador and has a relatively positive mindset towards Bitcoin and the invention surrounding Bitcoin development and how to work around it to see more economic and alternative financial ecosystem that will allow small and large scale businesses in the country.
The country has a low internet penetration of about 11% and a low electricity supply of about 14% this factor has made the economic conditions of the citizens to be below the poverty level, and have turned to a global economic tool like Bitcoin as an alternative. And mostly the unemployed youths are largely involved in Bitcoin trading on major cryptocurrency exchanges and p2p platform.

i see nothing new here as well aside the common ABCD we all know about El-Savador.

[hugeblack]

I do not think that the availability of factors such as a growing economy, population density, young people, internet connection means that there will be adoption of cryptocurrencies, but economic variables such as inflation, the difficulty of bank transfers, and the lack of investment tools available to young people are what makes digital currency adoption flourish in some African countries Like Nigeria.

As for the Central African Republic, I do not think that the adoption of Bitcoin will have a significant impact.

[Anguwa]

           
Even though the Nigerian central bank stopped banks from providing Bitcoin-related services, exchanges like Binance and other payment gateways like Luno, Patricia, and Remitano have continually provided a platform for Nigerians to get involved with Bitcoin trading which participates in a reduction in youth dependency on the government thereby reducing the impact of unemployment on the youths and the government as a large number of employable youths now find alternative sources of income in Bitcoin trading and other cryptocurrency businesses.

You are correct, Nigerian youths have discovered Crypto as a source of income because the government of Nigeria has found it difficult to provide job opportunities for all youths, including university graduates, so learning about Bitcoin has brought an end to their suffering, as they can trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to gain profit.

[Piesel]

Am well concerned about the negative effects of centralization in Bitcoin transactions in those countries if the government ever places income tax on digital assets and. makes the teaming youths pay taxes on their Bitcoin trading. In as much as the adoption level have sure high in those countries use should also put the primary purpose of Bitcoin into consideration which is an alternative to bank's total control of the financial dealings of an individual.

But if truly the exchange can perform its role as the connection point between different digital assets listed on those exchanges and not be used as a store of our money will be far better and secured for the user, as there have been several complaints of an exchange hack lately.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

The discovery of bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general in Nigeria, by the youths, as another source through which good living can be earned, have indeed reduced the crime rate in the streets, of the cities in Nigeria.
I don't know very much about Central African Republic aside the fact that it is the second country to approve bitcoin as a legal tender.

In terms of bitcoin payment gateway, as well as exchanges, I think franky1 has indeed pointed out some really important things to note, exchanges, most especially the centralized ones, like Binance and the rest, are also governments of their own, they pay tribute to the same government we all are trying to break free from, so it is important to apply caution to how we see and use such exchanges, no doubt, they have all contributed greatly, to the adoption of Bitcoin in almost every city of the world, but they are not the Last hope for bitcoin adoption, they are only but a stepping stone to what is to come in the future.

[Zlantann]

but i have seen merchant kiosks, i have seen established 'meetups' where regular people meet and get to know each other and all trades are done in the venue(coffee shop/bar) where the trades are witnessed by a few people. much like playing poker with a group of people where everyone ends up trusting each other because they know they cant get away with cheating another person with other people there.

and as for the kiosks they are more professional. not a pop-up- shop that disappears the next day, but a service location thats there all year round and would earn a bad reputation if it cheated customers

so its a case of using common sense and caution when it comes to hand-to-hand swaps

Such business that offers this kind of services doesn't exist in most countries in Africa. Even if it is available it would be abused by gang of fraudsters and criminals that might even use force to dispossess people of their Bitcoin in broad-day light. These kiosk and pop-up-shops might be available in developed nations that has a very functional security systems like trained and well armed police officers.   

the issue with these platforms both peer to peer and central exchanges. is the banking ability to freeze money. or for some to perform "chargeback" scams
where they deposit money. wait for the timedelays release of coin. take the coin out.
and then phone their bank and pretend their account got hacked and ask for a refurn of funds.
this alone has caused the most havoc for peer-to-peer trading platforms (localbitcoins years ago had alots of reports of this) where by those selling coin lost out alot even with a escrow

Most African countries don't have any option but to rely on these platforms to carryout Bitcoin transactions. But like you richly pointed out that they should be used just as a link between fiat and cryptocurrencies. Hence using them as banks is risky and not advisable.

I do not think that the availability of factors such as a growing economy, population density, young people, internet connection means that there will be adoption of cryptocurrencies, but economic variables such as inflation, the difficulty of bank transfers, and the lack of investment tools available to young people are what makes digital currency adoption flourish in some African countries Like Nigeria.

Everything you stated here is true. The drastic fall of Nigerian currency led to an increase in the adoption of cryptocurrencies because people began to use them as a hedge against inflation. Also, in Nigeria their are restrictions on bank transfers. Customers are restricted to withdraw more than a certain a amount. If one want to exceed the limit, a certain percentage of the excess must be heavily fined. 

[NdaMk]

The discovery of bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general in Nigeria, by the youths, as another source through which good living can be earned, have indeed reduced the crime rate in the streets, of the cities in Nigeria.
I don't know very much about Central African Republic aside the fact that it is the second country to approve bitcoin as a legal tender.

In terms of bitcoin payment gateway, as well as exchanges, I think franky1 has indeed pointed out some really important things to note, exchanges, most especially the centralized ones, like Binance and the rest, are also governments of their own, they pay tribute to the same government we all are trying to break free from, so it is important to apply caution to how we see and use such exchanges, no doubt, they have all contributed greatly, to the adoption of Bitcoin in almost every city of the world, but they are not the Last hope for bitcoin adoption, they are only but a stepping stone to what is to come in the future.

I quite agree with you that exchanges aren't all that perfect since themselves looks centralized and the sole aim of bitcoin is decentralisation. But currently it's the best way to exchange your coins to fiat, because the issue of P2P is very risky. To embark on it one has to fully trust the other partner or better still look for an escrow. Sometimes these escrows team up with the other partner to scam people of either there coin or fiat. I have being a victim of such circumstances. So currently the I only do give advice of Binance and its like to people. But if at all there are better P2P with trusted escrows I would love your suggestions on them

[Piesel]

Peer to per is not suitable for a face-to-face deal and if you must involve in peer to peer then one needs to do it through an escrow and that does not mean you have to meet in person, the issue of security is what hampered the growth of face to face deal and that push people back to the exchange which becomes the only viable way to exchange one coin to another and also communicate the transaction to your bank.

So the exchange is a very important and integral part of Bitcoin as it provides services to the market and helps fuel most activities in the industry.

[Odusko]

The discovery of bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general in Nigeria, by the youths, as another source through which a good living can be earned, have indeed reduced the crime rate in the streets, of the cities in Nigeria.
I don't know very much about the Central African Republic aside from the fact that it is the second country to approve bitcoin as a legal tender.

Indeed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies adoption in Nigeria have helped to reduce the burden of unemployment on the government and also helped the teaming youths in Nigeria to be gainfully engaged by being able to fend for themselves. The high rate of inflation and corruption in Nigeria has pushed many youths who don't have self-control into crimes but the discovery of trading and other cryptocurrency activities has helped to reduce the crime rate and exchanges have helped many to learn from easy tools made available on the exchanges. In Nigeria for instance the most popular exchange is Binance and this exchange has helped a lot of newbie traders build their skills.

[AmoreJaz]

The discovery of bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general in Nigeria, by the youths, as another source through which a good living can be earned, have indeed reduced the crime rate in the streets, of the cities in Nigeria.
I don't know very much about the Central African Republic aside from the fact that it is the second country to approve bitcoin as a legal tender.

Indeed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies adoption in Nigeria have helped to reduce the burden of unemployment on the government and also helped the teaming youths in Nigeria to be gainfully engaged by being able to fend for themselves. The high rate of inflation and corruption in Nigeria has pushed many youths who don't have self-control into crimes but the discovery of trading and other cryptocurrency activities has helped to reduce the crime rate and exchanges have helped many to learn from easy tools made available on the exchanges. In Nigeria for instance the most popular exchange is Binance and this exchange has helped a lot of newbie traders build their skills.

though we don't know the stats stating this improvement in terms of unemployment owed to bitcoin market, still would be nice if crypto market indeed help some of their people to alleviate their economic status.
also, btc as legal tender in central african republic did not make so much noise as when el salvador made btc as legal tender, but if this will assist some of its people to address their poverty, why not?

[KaliLinux]

Like Franky1 said; they should be careful with storing funds on exchanges, referring to the period binance banned Nigerian accounts, many traders lost money. Africans love to use cryptocurrency and the adoption is increasing in the region but, many trade on exchanges for quick money and some know little about trading that's why they store funds on exchanges as they feel its secure. But given time, practice makes perfect, they'll learn to trade better and make profits. On the other hand, cryptocurrency scam, which is also an impact, is increasing in Africa alongside the adoption. Some peer2peer traders who advertise on social Media platforms like Instagram fail to deliver funds to customers, and they is no means of tracing them. Therefore, Africans are advised not to adopt crypto with shallow experience, they are multiple victims everyday on social media platforms especially on telegram complaining about being ripped of their funds due to selfish interest, invest $100 to get $1000 kind of con keeps recurring on daily basis.

In relation to P2P trading, there are many good exchanges where you can trade P2P even if your crypto is not stored in the exchange which shouldn't be anyway. You can simply send whatever you intend to trade to the exchange and complete your transaction and for those falling for all that social medial investment, that is their fault. It can't be reiterated more, all those ads of pay X amount and get XX amount have always been scams and that is greediness on their part and has nothing to do with crypto.