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by SwimSwimHungry 1778 days ago
Apparently? There is no real proof this has brought mostly normal people in Nigeria out of poverty, at least at large enough numbers to be believed. This is just some yarn spun up by proponents of cryptocurrency to rally more to their cause.

I'd be shocked if most people in Nigeria even have a personal computer and reliable internet. That's how impoverished most of them are.
3 comments
exdsq 1778 days ago
> I'd be shocked if most people in Nigeria even have a personal computer and reliable internet. That's how impoverished most of them are.

I did a little research on this for a job last year and internet access/mobile phone ownership numbers are far higher than I expected. Mobile payments are already a very common form of transaction in Africa. The Gates Foundation mentioned that one of the big issues with their current infrastructure is middle-men fees when talking about remittances between African countries through to mobile credit, so crypto is actually a strong candidate to improve that area too.

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endisneigh 1778 days ago
Why do people use Africa and Nigeria interchangeably?
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exdsq 1778 days ago
In this context they have similar mobile and internet coverage (excluding South Africa)
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spiffydave 1778 days ago
Nigeria has a cell phone adoption rate of around 50% currently. People can trade crypto, do banking, money transfers, etc. on a cell phone. The idea that a desktop computer is required is a very old-school mindset. Similar to your "everyone in Nigeria is impoverished" comment.

Also, it's not about getting rich. It's about surviving when the government has all power to freeze your bank accounts, inflate the currency, etc.

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beaner 1778 days ago
Google: "what percentage of nigerians have cell phones"

Answer: "While Nigeria's mobile penetration rate is lower than developed markets, it is higher than the average across sub-Saharan Africa, standing at around 50% as of 2018, and estimated to rise to 130 million or about 60%-65% of the total population by 2025."

Also: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Which, in this case, is to say that it may be that "there is no real proof that this has brought mostly normal people in nigeria out of poverty." But did you RTFA? It talks about how crypto is helping normal people. So there isn't evidence against this idea either. Maybe we should try to find out, rather than be dismissive.

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