The wave of Bitcoin awareness is sweeping across the largest black nation on earth. Known for their enterprising ability, Nigerians have proven to be a prominent force on whatever idea or venture that finds it’s way into the acceptable space of the society.
Probably due to the prevailing economic situation which has seen the nation slide into recession, coupled with an inflation rate that has increased significantly in the past few months, citizens have resolved to seeking alternative income in superior currencies.
Vic Chimex, Principal government radio reporter and a Bitcoin investor, says:
“With the current recession in the country and even almost throughout the world, one needs to look for other sources of making money.”
A typical Nigerian factor
A common problem that has always played out at the introduction of new ideas within the Nigerian money environment is the lack of adequate knowledge.
During the era of online currency trading, a lot of investors lost their wealth due to either insufficient education, or bad advice from non-qualified experts.
As the wave of awareness of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies spread across the nation, at a time when citizens are looking for possible ways to make extra income, there may be the possibility of repeating the same mistakes of the last decade.
Cointelegraph speaks with a number of Bitcoin investors in Nigeria to assess their knowledge and experience in dealing with Bitcoin.
Knowledge born out of curiosity
Patience Tida Samuel of Liberty TV/Radio says that her knowledge of Bitcoin comes from a rather indirect source. According to Samuel, it was her curiosity to learn something new that drove her into Bitcoin awareness barely two months before the time of writing.
“I first heard about Bitcoin about two months before now through a friend who introduced me to network programme known as Zarfund wealth project,” says Samuel. “I agreed to sign up without really knowing what Bitcoin was all about but out of curiosity. My motivation to learning more about Bitcoin is my curiosity to learn something new.”
Despite accepting to have a shallow knowledge of the Bitcoin ecosystem, Samuel states that her interest in Bitcoin was born simply out of curiosity and has nothing to do with the prevailing economic situation of Nigeria.
Superior currency power
Another investor who spoke to Cointelegraph is Uche Stephen. Unlike Samuel, Stephen’s attraction to Bitcoin was born out of the relative superiority of the cryptocurrency over the local currency, the Naira.
Stephen also notes that prevailing national economic situation motivated her to seek other income sources, hence, she stumbled on the same network marketing programme as Samuel having been introduced by a colleague at work.
“I would not boast of knowing a lot about Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general,” explains Stephen. “However, I am already making a lot of effort to really understand the entire concept.”
The quest for diversification
Vic Chimex is a Principal government radio reporter and a Bitcoin investor. Chimex says that her initial understanding of Bitcoin was as the currency that powered a specific networking programme, Zarfund.
According to her, the attraction was the opportunity to diversify her income earning potential. However, Chimex did not hesitate to state clearly that her venturing into Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related enterprise was strictly based on recommendation as she is yet to have a clear understanding of the cryptocurrency and its functions.
Decentralization
Solomon Barnabas Aliyu, President of One27 Consulting tells Cointelegraph that his initial perception of the subject Bitcoin was that of a weird concept. Having been introduced by a friend, Aliyu found it difficult to comprehend, but he followed up.
What caught Aliyu’s interest was the fact that Bitcoin is a decentralized entity that is not under the control of any particular individual, group or government.
However, Aliyu agrees that he still has a whole lot to learn about the cryptocurrency and its unlimited potentials.