CoinFest Nigeria: Festival of Cryptocurrencies in Nigeria

African Youth Peace Call (AYPC), Nigeria, a nonprofit Free Market organization devoted to the principles of individual liberty, entrepreneurship, and limited government, hosted the premier edition of CoinFest Nigeria, in Lagos, on Friday, April 7th, 2017.

CoinFest is an annual international gathering of BitCoiners, Crypto-Enthusiasts, Programmers/Developers, Entrepreneurs/Merchants, and the general public on the acceptance of Cryptocurrencies, and adoption of decentralize technology, celebrated in Canada, Ghana, United Kingdom, Botswana, United States of America, Sierra Leon, including Nigeria.

The event started with Opening speech by Kayode Babarinde, Advisor, African Youth Peace Call (AYPC), Nigeria. He pointed the need is raising more awareness about Cryptocurrencies across Nigeria, as it will savage the country of the current economic trend.

Mr. Roland Alexander, Operations Manager, Africa & Middle East, Crypto Consultants, was the first speaker. His topic was, " Cryptocurrency regulations in Nigeria." According to him, "it is obvious that financial institutions (Banks), Federal Government, are aware of Crypto, more importantly, that should not border us much as there is little government can do in limiting or stopping the operations of Cryptocurrencies as it is widely in use by many Nigerians."\

"International Trade: Handling of Crypto Scams and Ponzi Schemes, was the topic discussed by Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, Managing Partner, 3T Impex Consult. In Nigeria, Multi Level Marketing initiatives are gaining more grounds as Nigerians are looking for alternative financial/economic security. Simultaneously, Nigerians need to be careful schemes and scams packaged as genuine products.

Also, speaking at the event is a representative of Mr. Adeolu Fadele, Executive Director, Cryptography Development Initiative in Nigeria, in person of Mr. Uthman Oniwonlu, the Assistant Director of Education and Awareness, Cryptography Development Initiative in Nigeria. He spoke on "Digital Economy: Acceptance of Cryptocurrencies in Nigeria.""Digital is not just part of the Economy - it is the Economy. To underscore the importance of Digital Economy, an empirical measure to estimate the contributions of the Internet & ICT to GDP has now emerged and it is called iGDP. iGDPs of developed economies range from 5-8%, while in emerging economies the figure is closer to 2-3%. So, there is scope for growth for growing economies such as our great country Nigeria."



There was also panel discussion on "Cryptocurrency/Blockchain Technology Innovation." Panelist include Mr. Kunle Olamuyiwa, Regional Head of Sales and Marketing - West Africa, BitPesa; Mr. Adewale Bankole, Humaniq African Ambassador, Humaniq; Mr. Mobolaji Onibudo, President & CEO, Leapsoft Ltd (founder of Xendbit – Bitcoin Wallet &Exchange), moderated by Damola Morenikeji, Development Strategist, LEAD Resources. 

From the contributions of the panel, it is evident that the impact of Cryptocurrencies/Blockchain Technology in Africa, specifically Nigeria, is on the increase with novelty and awareness of innovations, starting with Xendbit – Bitcoin Wallet &Exchange Wallet (an initiative of Leapsoft Limited). Mr Onibudo further described Xendbit as the first Wallet with Fingerprint Authentication and a platform planned for trading cryptocurrencies and smart-contract enabled digital token for conventional fiat currencies. Also, in the near future, users will be able to convert digital currency balances into our branded prepaid cards which will enable cash withdrawal from ATMs globally.

In closing, Tim Tayshun, Founder of New Africa Radio, discussed the global trends of Blockchain and BitCoin, including (trading and investment) opportunities available despite the challenges of "Hard Fork" of BitCoin at the time. More importantly, participants won BTCs, after spinning "BitCoin Fortune Wheel."