By Bitcoin 雜誌 - 6 個月前 - 閱讀時間：14 分鐘
非洲：自由的新土地
I write this article as a resident of New York City, home of the Statue of Liberty, one of the most widely recognized symbols of America — the “land of the free”.
但是，當談到 Bitcoin, I don’t feel so free as a New Yorker.
New York State (NYS) is one of the most restrictive jurisdictions in the world in regard to Bitcoin. Since 2015, NYS has required companies that deal in the virtual currency marketplace to obtain a “比特許可證” in order to do business in the state. This license is both difficult and expensive to acquire. Bitcoin-only exchanges like River and Swan as well as long-standing, reputable crypto exchanges like Kraken cannot serve residents of NYS because they do not have BitLicenses (for Swan, some NYS residents are grandfathered in from a time when Swan was permitted to operate in NYS, but the exchange is no longer allowed to enroll new New York residents). And Strike, a bitcoin payment app, as well as Ledn, a bitcoin borrowing and lending platform, are not permitted to serve NYS residents either.
As if the BitLicense wasn’t an offensive enough roadblock in the state that is home to New York City — often purported to be the financial hub of the world — NYS’s current governor, Kathy Hochul, has pushed to make NYS even more unfriendly to Bitcoin. In November 2022, she signed a law 取締 Bitcoin 礦業公司 that don’t use 100% renewable resources from operating in the state for two years.
駕駛 home the point about New York’s stance on Bitcoin, look no further than the words of the state’s Attorney General, Letitia James.
資源(At the very least, she could have differentiated between bitcoin and all other digital assets.)
NYS authorities seem to be doing everything in their power to protect the old financial guard — Wall Street — pushing Bitcoin-related exchanges and start-ups out of NYS.
To say it’s disappointing to be a Bitcoin enthusiast living in New York is an understatement.
I feel inspired and hopeful, though, when I look beyond the state lines of New York, and even beyond the borders of the United States, to Africa, where the youth are passionate about promoting greater Bitcoin 採用。
On my podcast, new renaissance capital, I interview Bitcoin educators, entrepreneurs and thought leaders mostly based in The Global South.
Whenever I speak with guests from Africa, I get the feeling that they’re willing to push for greater Bitcoin adoption in their country (and on the continent at large) — whether their government is currently open to the idea or not.
Africans in particular have a certain sense of stoicism in their approach to Bitcoin. They’re on a mission to further the adoption of what Alex Gladstein termed “post-colonial money” in his book Check Your Financial Privilege: Inside the Global Bitcoin 革命.
So, in this piece, I’d like to highlight some key segments of conversations I’ve had with African Bitcoiners, people who I believe future generations will look back at and thank for the work they’re doing now to make Africans freer and more self-sovereign.
讓我們從大陸的西南端開始。
納米比亞
Nikolai “OKIN” Tjongarero, founder of EasySats, a company that makes it easy and cheap for Namibians to acquire bitcoin, has been doing his part to convince the powers that be in Namibia of Bitcoin’s value. He’s even orange-pilled members of the Bank of Namibia, the country’s central bank.
When higher-ups at the bank reached out to a burger joint that OKIN had recently convinced to accept bitcoin as a form of payment and requested to meet with OKIN at the restaurant, OKIN happily (though with a bit of trepidation) obliged.
“I don’t think they were there to try to catch anybody,” says OKIN of the 15 central bankers that showed up to the meeting. “They were like ‘Show us how we can buy burgers [with bitcoin].'”
After learning that most of the bankers didn’t know the difference between a custodial wallet and a non-custodial wallet, OKIN taught them how to transfer their bitcoin from their Coinbase exchange wallet to a Muun Wallet. Once the bankers were set up with Muun, they went to town and spent over 6,000 Namibian dollars (US$323) worth of bitcoin on burgers and beers before the meeting was through.
“This was just to see how they could spend their bitcoin,” states OKIN, who added that most of them “didn’t know what [they] could do with this thing (Bitcoin)… People are telling [them] that [they] can’t do anything with it, [that] it’s just magic internet money.”
But after that encounter with OKIN, their perspective had begun to shift, and they actually consulted OKIN for their research on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). To highlight the risks of surveillance and centralized control associated with CBDCs, OKIN pointed to the failure of the eNaira, a CBDC in Nigeria, the first African country to launch one. He pointed out in his commentary to the central bank that only 1% of Nigerians were using the eNaira while 50% were using some form of cryptocurrency, mainly bitcoin.
Having spent some time in Namibia myself, this story wasn’t so surprising. During my time in the country, I noticed how accessible both high-ranking members of institutions and politicians were. When I suggested that the accessibility of authorities in the country might be a plus when it comes to Bitcoin getting its fair shot in Namibia, OKIN agreed.
「每個人都是一個人； 政治家仍然是一個人，」奧金說。 “這些人不像是在有圍牆的花園後面——納米比亞也沒有。”
While the Namibian authorities are considering greater Bitcoin adoption, everyday Namibians remain free to use it at their own risk, to pay for goods and services with it if they so please.
Now, let’s go next door — to South Africa — to see how Bitcoin is improving lives in the country.
南非
Luthando Ndabambi, a leader in the Bitcoin 埃卡西 community, is living proof of how bitcoin is beginning to break South Africans free from the shackles of poverty.
“Bitcoin changed[d] my life,” shares Ndabambi, a Black South African born into apartheid. “I was living [in] a shack where [when] it’s raining, I had to move [my] bed at night because the rain was getting inside the shack. But my life now has really changed because I’m living [in] a proper house now — because of Bitcoin“
Not only has saving in bitcoin allowed Ndabambi to upgrade his physical living conditions, but it altered his behavior for the better, as well.
“I was drinking a lot; I was not thinking about [the] future,” explains Ndabambi. “After I [began] working for Bitcoin Ekasi, my life change[d] completely. I’m thinking different[ly] than before. I don’t care about parties. I just focus on my girlfriend and my son, and my family, as well. But I don’t care about other thing[s] like wasting my money. I always think, ‘If I go to the club, I’m going to eat (spend) a lot of money… No, do not go just to waste money.’ I have to use my money [for] something that’s going to change my life a lot.”
Ndabambi is the embodiment of the idea that “Bitcoin is hope”. And this sort of hope is rare to find in Black South Africans who grew up in townships both during and post-apartheid according to Hermann Vivier, founder of Bitcoin Ekasi and Bitcoin 雜誌 貢獻者.
當我在紐約遇到維維爾並與他一起從曼哈頓南端乘渡輪前往自由女神像所在的小島時，維維爾向我解釋說，種族隔離對南非非白人造成的傷害比對非白人南非人造成的傷害要大得多。可以測量。 「它的目的是破壞精神並灌輸絕望，」維維爾說。
He then explained to me how Ndabambi has become a model for those in his community, as Ndabambi has worked hard to complete tasks and assume responsibilities that he otherwise might not have if he didn’t truly believe that the future could be brighter — in large part because of Bitcoin.
Now, let’s head over to West Africa to hear from a Ghanaian who’s doing everything in his power to usher in a brighter future for Ghana with Bitcoin.
加納
Kumi Nkansah, journalist by trade and founder of the Bitcoin educational group the Bitcoin 考瑞斯, has been doing his part to orange-pill not only as many everyday Ghanians as possible but also members of the Ghanaian government.
“I got called into a very high-ranking office in the government to come and talk about Bitcoin,” shares Nkansah. “This is what they said to me: Keep on — learn as much as you can. Once we are ready, we’ll call you again [and] you will come and help us make certain decisions when it comes to Bitcoin. We like what you’re doing. Keep up with it.”
Nkansah explained that politicians in Ghana are open to the idea of Bitcoin because “they can feel the inflation; they can feel how they are losing money (purchasing power), so they are trying to find alternatives.”
他與國會議員 (MoP) 的互動尤其鼓舞人心。
「一位議員給我打電話，」恩坎薩開始說道。 「他的兄弟姊妹其實是來參加 Trezor Academy（Kumi 主辦的活動）的，我給了他一個硬體錢包。 因此，他拿走了硬體錢包並向這位議員展示了它。 然後我被叫去解釋它是什麼以及他們如何使用它。”
根據 Nkansah 的說法，他和這位議員之間的對話是這樣的：
Nkansah：“先生，您知道明年是美國大選年嗎？”
莫普：“是的。”
Nkansah: “Did you know three of the presidential candidates are accepting bitcoin payments [for donations for their campaigns]?”
莫普：“真的嗎？！”
Nkansah: “Yes, they are. Where do we borrow money from? Is it not the US? So, if these guys who want to be president are telling US citizens how they’re going to use Bitcoin to transform the economy and we are not learning more, and at the end of the day we’re going to borrow money from these same people, what are we doing to ourselves? We better start learning about Bitcoin“
MoP：「嘿，先生，你剛剛讓我震驚了。 我將了解更多相關知識，但你必須了解更多，以便到時候你會教我們必須做什麼。”
Nkansah went on to explain how while some members of the Ghanaian government attended the first African Bitcoin Conference, which took place in Ghana last year, even more will attend this year in efforts to keep learning. And this education is sorely needed as Ghana is being pressured by the IMF to implement a CBDC.
“One of the IMF’s conditions is for governments to leverage on CBDCs,” explains Nkansah. “But if they (Ghanaian government officials) should come and learn about the real difference between Bitcoin and CBDCs, they would actually figure out the best way to go about it — rather than doing what the IMF is saying.”
我們只能希望加納的當權者繼續追隨恩坎薩的領導。
現在，讓我們前往東非，聽聽其他政府成員的意見。
埃塞俄比亞
Kal Kassa, founder of Bitcoin Birr, an open-sourced Bitcoin educational platform and Bitcoin 雜誌 貢獻者, is a native Ethiopian with American citizenship who has received permission from the Ethiopian government to educate the country’s citizens about Bitcoin — despite the fact that it’s technically illegal to hold the asset within the country’s borders.
“Members of the government on an individual basis have been helpful in terms of giving me some sort of platform, giving me the ability to speak to audiences,” explains Kassa. “We have a defragmented or decentralized way of governing, so if you were to ask 15 ministers [about Bitcoin], you’re going to get 15 different responses. It’s not going to come from the institution or the agency or the office, but it’s going to come from that individual — and I’m sure they’re holding it (bitcoin) on their private books. There has been some good progress, but just nothing on an official basis.”
Kassa went on to discuss how people who hold and use bitcoin do so in a legal grey area, which sounded less ominous than what he wrote in an article he penned for Bitcoin 雜誌 標題為“The Marathon: Ethiopia and Bitcoin“。
卡薩寫道：“儘管監管機構和執法人員使用勸說棒，但公民仍大膽地發送和堆積衛星。” 「如果你認為西方目光敏銳的基金經理很樂觀，那麼你就沒有遇到過23 歲的埃塞俄比亞自由職業者，他們使用應用程式和Layer 2 開源閃電錢包運行完全數位化的專案（從採購到承包和開票）。 儘管這些交易可能很不起眼，但這些孩子冒著巨大的風險來實現他們對不受干擾的貨幣和主權價值的基本權利。”
But based on what Kassa is saying now combined with the fact that, according to Kassa, no one in the country has been prosecuted for using or holding bitcoin, it doesn’t seem that Ethiopian Bitcoiners have much to fear.
Kassa explained that because there’s been no prosecution for using Bitcoin and therefore no legal precedent set, most are simply following what the National Bank of Ethiopia has stated, which is that Bitcoin isn’t legal tender and that any losses sustained while using the asset are beyond what the bank can cover.
埃塞俄比亞的鄰國肯亞境內的情況也類似。
肯尼亞
Master Guantai, founder of Bitcoin Mtaani, a platform that educates Kenyans about Bitcoin in multiple African national languages, explains that Kenyans are essentially free to use Bitcoin at their own risk, as per the Central Bank of Kenya.
“In Kenya, [according to the] government and central bank, Bitcoin is not a currency,” states Master Guantai, who also added that the messaging from Kenyan authorities around bitcoin is “use it at your own risk; do your own thing.”
He did add, though, that further legislation around Bitcoin is likely on the way but that there’s little chance it would hinder adoption.
「基本上，所有非洲國家都在等待美國通過一項法律，然後他們會複製貼上並進行一些編輯，」他解釋道。 “因此，美國[法律]或歐洲[法律]——無論誰先這樣做——都將[創建]模板，這將為肯尼亞政府[將]採取多麼嚴厲或多麼寬容定下基調。”
When I asked Master Guantai if he was worried that the Kenyan government might adopt bad or anti-Bitcoin legislation from the United States, he responded with a clear “No”.
「肯亞人，我們有辦法讓政府傾聽我們的聲音，即使是透過武力——尤其是在推特上，」他解釋道。 「推特上的肯亞人根本不是開玩笑。 如果某件事不合時宜或其他什麼，它就會被誇大到連我們自己的總統都無法忽視的程度。 當事情變得完整時，他必須解決它。 政府的首要目標是照顧年輕人。 政府不想聽到年輕人說『你們提出的這項立法是消極的，我們已經沒有工作了，儘管我們受過教育; 就像你阻止了我們左、右、中的機會一樣。” 考慮到這一點，我可以說我並不擔心。”
Marcel Lorraine, founder of Bitcoin 達達, an organization that educates African women about Bitcoin, doesn’t seem worried either, especially since Kenya is such a tech-friendly country.
“Kenya has established itself as a pro-technology nation, earning the nickname ‘Silicon Savannah’ for its vibrant tech ecosystem,” shares Lorraine. “The country's government has actively promoted technology adoption through initiatives like mobile money pioneer M-Pesa, digital literacy programs, and e-government services. Kenya boasts a burgeoning startup scene, tech hubs, and research institutions, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Lorraine explains that especially because of Kenya’s work in implementing M-Pesa, a mobile money service created to increase financial inclusion in Kenya and other African nations, it should be open to the idea of Bitcoin.
“Kenya's leadership in peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions through technologies like M-Pesa offers an interesting connection to cryptocurrencies,” explains Lorraine. “Some Kenyan individuals and businesses have started exploring cryptocurrencies [like bitcoin] as an alternative to traditional financial services, particularly for cross-border transactions and as a 存儲的價值“
After hearing these words from Master Guantai and Marcel Lorraine, it’s hard to imagine the Kenyan government or central bank wanting to cut off everyday Kenyans from the type of empowerment and financial autonomy that Bitcoin 提供。
在結束之前，讓我們在東非做最後一站。
坦桑尼亞
While the Bank of Tanzania, the country’s central bank, issued a one-page statement in 2019 about the dangers of cryptocurrencies and the fact that they aren’t considered legal tender in Tanzania, this hasn’t stopped trailblazers like Man Like Kweks from promoting greater Bitcoin 在國內收養。
Man Like Kweks, a teacher by trade and a 音樂家, recently summitted Mount Kilimanjaro with the help of the over 5 million Sats he raised via Geyser Fund in efforts to bring attention to and raise funds for his new Bitcoin education program: POWA (Proof of Work Academy).
“There’s been many different projects that have been funded by bitcoin, [and] I want[ed] to put Tanzania on the map,” explains Man Like Kweks. “I was just very blessed that my network in the Bitcoin and Nostr community was enough to get enough traction to climb it (Mount Kilimanjaro).”
至於他的學院名稱背後的靈感：
「在斯瓦希里語中，問候語是‘mambo’，然後回應是‘powa’，[意思是]‘事情很酷’，」他解釋道。 “[POWA] 的目標人群是年輕人。 將其與“工作量證明”聯繫起來，我只是想做一些很酷、新鮮的事情，並將其稱為學院，這一切都還算有效。”
It definitely did work, and things will likely continue to be very cool for the Tanzanian youth if they can follow Man Like Kweks’ lead and leverage the global Bitcoin community to help elevate their creative efforts.
將火炬傳遞給非洲
所以，現在你可能會更好地理解為什麼我對我所看到的某些非洲司法管轄區所發生的事情比我所居住的司法管轄區感到有點羨慕。
而 New York continues to be inhospitable to Bitcoin 公司, Africans are taking the bull by the horns and forging ahead fearlessly, working to create a future buoyed by a network on which users can transact permissionlessly with the hardest asset humanity has ever known.
如果自由女神可以的話，我相信她會跨越大西洋，將她的火炬交給非洲人，要求他們拿著它奔跑，因為卡爾·卡薩的話——「埃塞俄比亞，我們是一個貧窮、年輕群眾的國家。 給他們一台電腦和一些目標，我們就能實現目標」——聽起來更像是印在她基地的文字——「給我你們疲憊的、貧窮的、擠在一起渴望自由呼吸的群眾」— —而不是當局的話在紐約，或更廣泛地說在美國。
Godspeed, Africa, and I’ll see you at the African Bitcoin Conference in Ghana in December.
這是一篇客座文章 弗蘭克·科爾瓦。 所表達的觀點完全是他們自己的觀點，並不一定反映BTC Inc或 Bitcoin 雜誌。
原始來源： Bitcoin 雜誌