Nigeria’s cryptocurrency advocate James Otudor has recently publicly announced that he will challenge the country’s government to file lawsuits on cryptocurrency-related issues. “I, James Otudor, a Nigerian citizen, have filed a landmark lawsuit against Nigeria’s major government entities, challenging restrictions on the ownership, use, and trading of Bitcoin, USDT, and other cryptocurrencies,” he declared on Twitter.
Defend constitutionally guaranteed property rights and litigate against the government
The lawsuit seeks to defend Nigerian cryptocurrency users from unfair treatment. "Bitcoin and USDT are globally recognized as valuable assets that protect holders from inflation and serve as a medium of exchange." Maurice Ebam, the plaintiff's legal representative, said that Article 43 of the Constitution guarantees every Nigerian citizen The right to acquire and own property anywhere within Nigeria, and this right extends to cryptocurrencies.
He said the lawsuit will target the country’s president, finance minister, attorney general, central bank, Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies. In addition, Maurice Ebam also said that Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantees people’s property rights, and people’s property rights can only be restricted for public needs or social welfare needs. The plaintiffs argue that the ongoing attacks on Nigerians who hold cryptocurrencies violate their basic human rights and that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a vehicle for protecting savings from inflation and enabling international transactions.
Cryptocurrency may be a lifeline for the country as Naira depreciates
The background of the lawsuit is the increasing regulation of local cryptocurrency in Nigeria, such as OKX announcing that it will withdraw from the country's market, the Central Bank of Nigeria accusing Binance of currency manipulation, and Binance executives fleeing Nigeria after suing Binance for tax evasion. As of February 2024, the proportion of cryptocurrency holders in Nigeria was reported to be as high as 47%. For comparison, Japan has only 6% cryptocurrency holders, and the United States only has 18%. In addition to the country's insufficient financial infrastructure, people cannot easily participate in international financial activities. The main reason for the popularity of cryptocurrency in Nigeria is the severe depreciation of the country’s legal currency, the Naira (NGN), and people tend to store their assets in US dollars, US dollar stablecoins, or even Bitcoin.
Do third world countries that need cryptocurrencies really don’t need DeFi?
James Otudor asked the court to immediately lift all blocks on cryptocurrency trading platforms, allowing Nigerians to use them without restrictions. And once again, it is unconstitutional to infringe on the rights of all holders of U.S. dollar stablecoins, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies.
The author thought of (Faith tested? Ethereum core developer: I often doubt that I am in the wrong industry. "Shouldn't this system collapse?") In the article, some people think that Péter Szilágyi should focus on those who need cryptocurrency. Three world countries. He thinks that cryptocurrency is a casino because he only sees the stories told by Western capital. In fact, people in many countries with unstable currencies still need cryptocurrency. Isn’t Nigeria a country that needs cryptocurrencies to alleviate the severe inflation that has hurt its people’s purchasing power?
At that time, Péter Szilágyi replied: “If your economy depends on cryptocurrency, do you really need those DeFi protocols?”
But in the book "True: Reversing the Ten Intuitive Biases and Discovering That Things Are Better Than You Think" by global public health expert Hans Rosling, it is mentioned that our imagination of the world should not be binary between developing countries and developed countries. nation. He advocated that the average daily income can be divided into four stages: the first stage is a life experience where you can earn one dollar a day, can only cook gray porridge, and cannot even afford antibiotics.
In the second stage, I could earn four dollars a day, so I could buy some food, but if I got sick, I would have to sell more items to raise money to buy medicine.
In the third stage, working sixteen hours a day and earning sixteen dollars can buy a refrigerator. As long as the children graduate from high school, they can get a good job.
The fourth stage is to earn thirty-two dollars a day, which is equivalent to the minimum wage as we know it. In fact, it is difficult for us in the fourth stage to imagine life in the first three stages, and this book also mentions the upper-level gaze: people in the fourth stage will naturally divide the world into two categories, the rich (on the roof) and the poor (under it). But looking down from the upper floor, you can't tell that there are differences between floors below, as well as the differences between driving a car, riding a motorcycle, riding a bicycle, wearing sandals, and going barefoot.
Péter Szilágyi is a man with a view from above. Take Nigeria as an example, they need cryptocurrencies to fight inflation. But at the same time, because their financial infrastructure is imperfect, they also need DeFi protocols to better participate in the financial market. Nigeria's per capita GDP in 2022 is US$2,162, which translates into an average daily income of approximately US$6, which is approximately in the second stage defined by Hans Rosling.
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