Some Nigerians were shocked when crypto exchange Binance announced that it would cease all services in Nigeria by March 8. Despite the scrutiny from regulators ahead of the announcement, many people still wondered how the largest crypto exchange could simply disappear from the world's fastest-growing Bitcoin market. adoption. I wasn't shocked because I've been predicting this for years. Entrepreneurs from the South are under attack and the front line is a currency war playing out before our eyes.
I founded NoOnes, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading platform based in the Global South, because I foresaw the problems facing the crypto industry. Three years ago, I saw this day coming. I knew this was coming because I was the CEO of a US-based Bitcoin company, and I saw financial apartheid and all the regulatory issues up close. American regulators think so poorly of Africans that they make rules to suit Westerners and don't care much about others. I knew it would be increasingly difficult to serve Africans and the rest of the Global South if my business was based in the United States. That's why I created NoOnes.
My only option was to turn my back on a business I had built on a Bitcoin P2P platform with over 10 million users. The problems I saw then are exploding today, but blaming governments alone is not the way forward. We must understand the pressures our leaders are under, because only when we do can we come to the table with them to chart a new course. Right now all we have is a bunch of people cursing each other and that's not the way forward.
This war is about the financial system and the power to control the levers that decide which money is good and which is bad. Entrepreneurs in the Global South are trapped in their own markets, making it difficult to even make payments or do business with neighboring countries. For the average African entrepreneur, it is basically impossible to grow a business outside of the African continent. And now that Binance has left Nigeria, some companies based here are wondering what's next.
To truly unlock the value creation potential of Southern entrepreneurs, we must support them and create an environment that allows them to flourish. This is only possible if we do what I have been advocating for years: guarantee free trade by having a fluid monetary system. Achieving this will not be easy, and that is why I have had to make some difficult decisions. I had to leave the United States, I had to abandon a successful business I had founded, and I had to start all over again in the Global South.
I know why Binance was forced to leave Nigeria, and I'm sure it will happen to other crypto companies and in other countries. It is almost impossible to run a crypto business or bitcoin market serving Africa from another continent because you have to be on the ground to see the problems and find the solutions. I knew we couldn't accomplish our mission of helping the unbanked if we didn't have troops on the ground in the Global South, and that's why we based NoOnes here from the start. I'm not some crazy person who gave eight years of his life to a company and then left on a whim. I created NoOnes so I could be there for that
moment. Binance may have upped its ante and gone home, but NoOnes won't – we're already home.
I know Nigeria and I know the countries of the South because my companies have been active here for years. We live and work here now, and we listen to what people on the ground tell us. We've hired local Africans to manage moderation for Africans, for example, and that's part of what “boots on the ground” means: instead of a group of Americans passing judgment, we use Local Africans to make moderation safer and fairer. We do not view Africa – or any of the countries in the South where we operate – as places of plunder. We see Africans as partners and peers. That's why we created our Partner Program to share our benefits with the people who are part of 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 hobbled by an unjust global financial system, by a financial apartheid that creates financial prisons and stifles economic growth. Bitcoin and NoOnes give these entrepreneurs the opportunity to show what they can do when markets are free and money can flow. All they need to grow is a level playing field. They just need a chance, a path to success, and when we open a window of opportunity, they go through it. That's why NoOnes doesn't just create the best site to buy Bitcoin. We do everything we can to provide them with life-changing opportunities.
When I speak in auditoriums in Africa and explain what is possible with Bitcoin and our peer-to-peer platform, I see people's eyes light up. When I speak to them one-on-one, I am amazed at their enthusiasm and business acumen. Our next step is to make it easier for these entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level. We are building a product that will give local entrepreneurs a huge opportunity to create businesses in their own country for their own citizens and ultimately keep the profits in their country.
Despite the withdrawal of Binance Nigeria, many opportunities remain. NoOnes was built for this era and we are ready to take over to help dynamic and savvy Nigerians who see the value of Bitcoin and want to be part of this new era of prosperity in the Global South. The battles we face may be difficult, but the opportunities offered by the fastest growing continent on the planet are worth it.
This is a guest post by Ray Youssef. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.