No one is helping Nigeria after Binance withdrawal

Some Nigerians were shocked when cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it would suspend all services in Nigeria until March 8. Despite being scrutinized by regulators prior to the announcement, many people still wondered how the largest cryptocurrency exchange could disappear from the world’s fastest-growing Bitcoin market. quantum. I’ve been predicting this for years, so I’m not shocked. Entrepreneurs in the Global South are under attack, and the front line is the currency war that is unfolding before our very eyes.

I founded NoOnes, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading platform based in the Southern Hemisphere, because I foresaw the problems facing the cryptocurrency industry. Three years ago, I saw this day coming. I knew it was coming because I was the CEO of a US-based Bitcoin company, and I saw financial racism and all the regulatory issues up close. American regulators treat Africans so poorly that they make rules that fit Westerners and don’t really care about anyone else. I knew that if my company was based in the United States, it would become increasingly difficult to serve Africans and the rest of the global South. That’s why we created NoOnes.

My only choice was to turn my back on the business I had built on the Bitcoin peer-to-peer platform with over 10 million users. The problems we saw then are exploding now, but blaming the government alone is not the way forward. We need to understand the pressures our leaders are under. Because only then can we join them at the table and pioneer new paths. Right now it’s just a bunch of people swearing at each other, and that’s not the way forward.

This war is about the power that controls the financial system and the levers that determine whose money is good and whose money is bad. Entrepreneurs in the Global South are locked in their own markets, making it difficult to make payments or even do business with neighboring countries. It is basically impossible for the average African entrepreneur to expand their business outside the African continent. Now that Binance has left Nigeria, some companies based here are wondering what’s next.

For global South entrepreneurs to truly unleash their potential to create value, we must nurture them and create an environment where they can thrive. This is only possible if free trade is guaranteed through a free-flowing monetary system, something I have advocated for for many years. Making this happen will not be easy. So a difficult decision had to be made. I had to leave the United States, give up the successful company I had founded, and start all over again in the Southern Hemisphere.

I understand why Binance had to leave Nigeria, and I am sure this will happen with other cryptocurrency companies and other countries as well. It is nearly impossible to run a cryptocurrency business or Bitcoin market serving Africa from another continent because you need to be on-site to identify problems and find solutions. I knew we could not achieve our mission to help the unbanked in the Global South without a local workforce. That’s why we based NoOnes here from the beginning. I am not some crazy person who gave 8 years of my life to a company and then left on a whim. I set up NoOnes to be here for this.

Moment. Binance may withdraw its stake and go home, but NoOnes will not do that. We are already at home.

I know Nigeria and the global South well. Because we have been doing business here for many years. We live and work here now and listen to what people on the ground tell us. For example, we have hired local Africans to handle arbitrations for Africans, which in part means “boots on the ground.” Instead of having a majority of Americans making the decisions, we use local Africans to make arbitration safer and fairer. We do not view Africa or the Global South where we operate as places to plunder. We see Africans as partners and fellow human beings. That’s why we created our Partner Program – to share profits with those who join our business.

I have met thousands of tech-savvy Nigerian entrepreneurs and I know there is a reason for the high level of Bitcoin adoption here. For too long they have been shackled by an unfair global financial system, a financial apartheid that creates prisons for money and stifles economic growth. Bitcoin and NoOnes provide entrepreneurs with an opportunity to show what can be done when markets are free and money is allowed to flow. All they need to grow is a level playing field. They just need an opportunity and a path to success, and when we open a window of opportunity, they run right through it. That’s why NoOnes doesn’t just create the best site to buy Bitcoin. We are committed to providing them with life-changing opportunities.

When I speak in auditoriums across Africa and explain what is possible with Bitcoin and our peer-to-peer platform, I see people’s eyes light up. When I spoke with them one-on-one, I was amazed at their business acumen and drive. Our next step is to make it easier for these entrepreneurs to take their businesses to the next level. We are creating products that provide tremendous opportunities for local entrepreneurs to set up businesses in their own countries, for citizens, and ultimately keep profits within their own countries.

Despite Binance Nigeria’s withdrawal, numerous opportunities remain. NoOnes was created for these times and we are ready to step up to the plate to help dynamic and knowledgeable Nigerians who see the value of Bitcoin and want to be part of a new era of prosperity in the Global South. The battles we must fight may be hard, but the opportunities on the fastest-growing continent on Earth are worth it.

This is a guest post by Ray Youssef. The opinions expressed are solely personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.