Nigeria Can Be Empowered By Bitcoin Says Foundation CEO

Lady Victoria Walker, CEO of the United Digital Currency Reserve Foundation, has recently stressed that the understanding and deployment of bitcoin can kickstart the financial growth in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, reports Niger247News

In a recent presentation Lady Walker, who is also a blockchain and cryptocurrency speaker, as well as Principal Consultant at Cryptoria Investment Research, maintains that for Nigerian banks to deal with blockchain technologies, it first needs to understand cryptocurrencies:

“Many banks and regulators are confused and do not fully understand how Bitcoin and blockchain technology work, but I think once the Central Bank of Nigeria and other key figures get to understand the true nature of blockchain technology and what it can bring economically, I believe they may embrace the technology with open arms.”

The UK based fintech entrepreneur feels that new technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency are essential factors in empowering African leaders to inject growth and financial inclusivity into their economies, she argues:

“Britain imposes a ‘super tax’ on remittances sent to African countries, causing a loss of £1.8bn a year from money sent home by workers. Think about it, £1.8bn is taken away from the people sending money to support their families in Nigeria.  Imagine what £1.8bn a year could do in the pockets of families depending on money sent to them from abroad? This is where blockchain technology comes in. It solves a problem like this by making it easier and cheaper to transfer and remit payments internationally.”

Nigeria has had a difficult cryptocurrency history. Early last year it was reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria was considering implementing its own cryptocurrency, but later the same year, it was advising banks to distance themselves from virtual currency, warning them, “not to use, hold or transact in any way with the technology.”

The remarks came at a time when Nigeria’s interest in cryptocurrencies was flourishing. According to data from Coindance, weekly trading volume on Localbitcoins in Nigeria surged 500 percent in 2017.  Nigeria then, was among top countries using Google to search for ‘bitcoin’, alongside South Africa, Slovenia, Holland, and Austria. Although, it was reported at this time that a Ponzi scheme may have been partly responsible for the clicking figures. The scheme reportedly cost investors UD$50 million in early March of that year.

In a press release issued in March of this year, the CBN is now reiterating its warnings of last year, suggesting that due to crypto investments being unprotected, investors will be at risk. Lady Walker maintains that it is lack of knowledge which holds back the tide of progress in the African crypto space, which in turn creates institutional and public skepticism such as the CBN’s.

“People are skeptical because that is human nature. We are natural cynics and skeptics and rarely trust what we don’t understand. This is why I urge people to truly understand the nature of the industry, asset and also yourself”

Lady Walker believes that there will come a time when all Nigerian banks will have to adopt cryptocurrencies of their own, but due to the current volatility of the crypto market, it remains a future goal of those who see cryptocurrency as the financial future. She maintains:

“Bitcoin is a reality. We have all major world governments scrambling to make sense of it and world leaders sharing their views on the currency. For the past 700 years, our world has relied on the European legacy banking system for means of payments and transactions. Bitcoin is definitely challenging the traditional way when it comes to transfer of value. Just like the internet changed how we shop, bank, date and find information.”

About 40% of Nigeria’s population is unbanked, which blocks nearly half of the population from the financial economy. To this, the fintech CEO argues “All you require is a smartphone and internet to start sending and receiving payments. No I.D required, filling out paperwork, etc… Do you know how much this could change things for the people of Nigeria?”

Lighting Africa and Proposed Crypto City Shows Africa is Pushing Back Frontiers

Grammy-nominated singer Akon’s recently revealed plans to build his own Crypto City not only adds to his role as a driver for social change but reflects that Africa is keen to adopt FinTech for social betterment.

This is not the first of Akon’s innovative projects which have been designed to drive societal changes. Launched in 2014, Akon Lighting Africa was formed to attempt to address Africa’s energy crisis with an initiative to develop an innovative solar-powered solution to provide African villages with access to a clean and affordable source of electricity.

Due to the Akon Lighting Africa project, a wide range of quality solar solutions, including street lamps, domestic and individual kits, have been installed in 14 African countries, and “…a number of households, villages, community houses, schools and health centers located in rural areas have been connected to electricity for the first time ever”.

The surge in popularity of cryptocurrencies has contributed to the opening of at least 15 new trading venues in South Africa within the past year alone. Peer-to-peer marketplaces also recorded a surge in trading volumes as Bitcoin’s price reached historic highs at the end of last year, writes News BTC. Of cryptocurrency, Akon says it “allows the people to utilize it in ways where they can advance themselves and not allow the government to do those things that are keeping them down”.

The backbone to Akon’s latest monumental plan will be the singer’s own cryptocurrency Akoin, described on its site as “a unique global project that offers an abundance of digital and in-real-life platforms and experiences that create opportunity and inclusion for youth entrepreneurs”. The construction of the city said to be a 100% crypto environment. It is planned to be built on 2,000 acres of land gifted to Akon from the President of Senegal, within five minutes of the country’s new international airport near Dakar.

There are many reasons why Africans are beginning to turn to cryptocurrencies rather than traditional currencies. Many nationals fall foul of inflation and hyperinflation, resulting in weak and unstable financial systems. Recently, countries such as Zimbabwe, South Sudan, and oil-rich Nigeria have all suffered, many of these countries with inflation rates well into the hundreds of percentages. In these situations, it is hardly surprising that populations look to a more stable form of monetary solutions in their daily lives.

Grammy Winner Akon to Unveil Cryptocurrency ‘Akoin’, Also Build ‘Crypto City’ in Senegal

Senegalese born American rapper and solar businessman Akon, sets to launch his cryptocurrency in two weeks to help advance conditions in Africa, according to Page Six.

While Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, the artist and business tycoon stated that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology could empower people in Africa and offer a safe currency that allows them to advance independent of the government.

Goal: A City Based on Crypto

Akon reiterated that he plans to develop a city completely built on the cryptocurrency, which he says will be called Akoin. The 2,000 acres arranged for Akon by Senegal’s president will be called “Akon Crypto City”, according to the Akoin website. The city will be the first in which a cryptocurrency will be the basis of transactions.

Akon Crypto City is situated five miles of the country’s novel international airport and uses smart city designs and a blank canvas for “cryptonizing” everyday business and human relations, according to the website.

When asked technical questions about blockchain technology at Cannes, Akon deferred them to “the geeks”, saying that he comes to the table with the concepts.

These ambitions seem Outstanding, Akon also has other plans, including running for president in the US.  He said that he is ready to take on both President Donald Trump and Kanye West — who has also hinted a White House run — in 2020. He held that he hopes West runs for president so that he can debate both men. He said he would also invite Trump to a boxing match or MMA contest.

Akon co-founded Akon Lighting Africa with Samba Bathily and Thione Niang in 2014 to develop a solar-powered solution to provide African villages access to an affordable and clean source of electricity, according to the organization’s website. Akon Lighting Africa is based in New York City and has installed solar solutions in 14 African countries.

Featured Image from SHutterstock

STEER CLEAR FROM TBC! SCAM ALERT!!!

There’s been quite the buzz over a coin called The Billion Coin (TBC), so I decided to dig a little deeper to see what all the fuss was about. TL;DR version: It’s a scam. Stay away at all costs.

The actual market cap of TBC

When I perform research on potentially profitable cryptocurrencies, I start by looking them up on Coin Market Cap. It’s a nice way to check out a coin’s price, volume, and history, and it has links to various resources about any given coin.

Unfortunately, I came to a dead end right from the get-go, as TBC isn’t listed there. No big deal? —there are a lot of brand new coins that aren’t listed yet, and truthfully, finding a coin in its infancy has the potential to offer 10x the profit. But TBC is not that new in any way, already 2years up running.

So Is TBC One of These 10x—or Even 100x—Coins?

Now let’s check and see if The Billion Coin is on World Coin Index.  Again, no luck: it’s not listed there either. So it’s time to run a Google search and check out their website, TheBillionCoin.info. At first glance, it appears to be one of those cheesy slider WordPress themes that no one uses much anymore, at least not anyone who’s running a cryptocurrency promotional website.

On the site, the makers claim that The Billion Coin has a market cap in fourth place behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. That seems like a stretch considering that TBC has been around for a while, but has no genuine listing anywhere, and all news are only made up. Given the fact that I study the crypto industry day in and day out, I’m going to guess that is a lie. If that were indeed true, TBC would be listed on Coin Market Cap.

The next image on the slider says “Get out of debt fast.” It seems like they’re preying on the emotions of desperate people—a classic telltale sign of a scam. The picture of the woman cutting up her credit cards is what anyone thinking about buying this coin should do so they don’t end up losing everything they have. Cutting your credit card will prevent temptation to buy TBC. Or just simply steer clear of it.

It gets even worse. According to the website, the current price of 1 TBC as of a few weeks ago was allegedly 68.2 Bitcoin—roughly $286,000.  However, today, the website claims that 1 TBC is worth about 105.93 BTC. So the price of each TBC is 105 BTC, yet it isn’t even listed on Coin Market Cap? It’s almost comical that anyone would think this is true.

Apparently, The Billion Coin can be purchased and sold on the site’s exchange, but only there and nowhere else. There’s a page, and even a YouTube video (which, not surprisingly, has comments disabled), on the website dedicated to buying and selling TBC on the exchange. However, the actual exchange is “offline for maintenance,” so who knows if it was ever online to begin with.

The main question remains: why isn’t TBC exchanged on public exchanges like every other cryptocoin?

It should be clear at this point that anyone who is thinking about buying TBC should steer clear. However, those who still have a shred of hope in this project should read on.

The Billion Coin website

According to its website, TBC is going up 2% per day, every day. In other words, the creators of this scam claim that the price never drops and always goes up. That’s not logical at all if the market dictates the price.  Markets go up, and markets go down; this is why the logic behind perpetual profits is fallible.

According to the TBC website, original stakeholders who purchased €100 of TBC on March 21, 2016, all received 10,000x gains in six months’ time and are millionaires. The site goes on to say that anyone who purchases soon will earn similar gains. Finally it says, “Buy as much TCB as you can afford today. The price of TBC will never be this low again!”. There’s also a video version of this post narrated by a $75 spokesperson on Fiverr.

As we stated before, at the time of writing, the alleged price of 1 TBC was 68 BTC, and it’s now 105 BTC, so it would be tough to really load up on it. To create one billion millionaires is TBC’s mission, or so the site says. TBC also wants to end world poverty. In all reality, its makers have lined their pockets scamming people and might disappear any minute.

TBC on Bitcointalk

Enough about the cheap website. Let’s take a look at what members on Bitcointalk have to say.

On Bitcointalk, there’s a thread about TBC that was started on May 16, 2016. The original poster, savasori, has a trust rating of -2, meaning “trade with caution.” He explains the idea behind TBC in one large block of text that’s nearly impossible to read. The second comment by Woody20285 sums it all up pretty well:

Anyone who has been in the cryptocurrency industry long enough knows that this type of scenario can never be true.

Another comment by leigh2k14, a legendary member on the forum, says, “Time to sell the wife and kids, I’m all in on this bad boy.” You’ve got to appreciate the sarcasm.

At the end of this Bitcointalk discussion, one user asked, “[Is] this [a]scam or not?” Mr.Pro, a senior member, quickly replied, “I don’t know if you are blind or dumb or maybe it could be both.”

The TBC Wallet Is Disabled

In relatively recent news, the TBC web wallet was disabled on January 31, 2017, and all holders were encouraged to move their coins to yet another centralized site, which apparently doesn’t work either.

Because there are no open exchanges that allow for TBC to be traded and the TBC mediated exchange doesn’t work, holders have to convince others to buy their coins. In terms of P2P sales, generally on Facebook, the only way to sell TBC is to rope someone else into the scam.

Holders were allegedly trying to sell their TBC though Facebook groups for less than $0.05 each—a far cry from their claimed price of $286,000 each which rate, many new buyers bought it—just to recoup some of their losses.

The real value of TBC is 0. Truthfully it’s absolutely worthless, so don’t allow these con artists to separate you from your money by convincing you to buy this coin.

Who Does This Scam Target?

The TBC scam isn’t targeted at people who are already actively trading cryptocurrencies and understand the business. Instead, it’s aimed at people in third world countries, and it’s trying to separate them from their hard-earned money. For the most part, TBC is being heavily promoted in Africa and the Philippines. TBC scam artists are simply robbing poor people.

The sad truth is that they’re good at it. According to Similar Web, TBC’s site gets around five-hundred thousand visits per month.

Don’t Buy The Billion Coin!

To recap, the TBC scam took place between April 2016 and June 2016. If this scam, or one similar to it, comes back online, avoid it like the plague. Don’t invest in anything that makes impossible claims of something for nothing. I can also assume that the name TBC was intentionally chosen so that it might be confused with Bitcoin’s BTC.

While the makers of The Billion Coin claimed that their goal was to make one billion millionaires and battle world poverty, it’s clear that the real goal was to scam one billion people out of €100 and more. If you’re presented with the opportunity to buy The Billion Coin, avoid it at all costs. In the future, remember that 99Bitcoins supplies you with tools such as the Bitcoin Scam Test to try to assess whether cryptocurrency opportunities are legit or not.

Had your own experience with TBC? We’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.