Femi Akinola, a Nigerian cryptocurrency trader, returned 90 Solana tokens worth $14,000 that were mistakenly sent to him by a foreign trader. His honest act garnered widespread praise and led to gifts totaling over 35 SOL from members of the crypto community.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Akinola explained that a crypto trader known as @raffayalvi “RAF” on the X social platform had intended to send him $100 in Solana (SOL) tokens as part of a giveaway but accidentally transferred 100 SOL, worth approximately 20 million in Nigeria’s fiat currency.

Accidental riches

Realizing his mistake, RAF contacted the recipient, Femi, and requested the return of 90 SOL while allowing him to keep 10 SOL as a gesture of goodwill. According to RAF’s post on X, he was astonished when Femi honored the request and promptly returned the 90 SOL.

Akinola said he faced a tough decision when he realized that a large amount of SOL tokens had been mistakenly sent to his account, but he chose to do the right thing and return them. He explained that his choice was motivated by his faith as a Christian.

Discussing how this experience should alter perceptions of transactions and interactions within the crypto community, Akinola expressed his belief that his actions demonstrate there is still hope within the crypto community.

“I used to hear about similar incidents where people had to make ethical decisions and would think it was superhuman. But at that moment, all I could think of was my integrity and doing the right thing.”

Boosting Nigeria's crypto image

Akinola believes his actions might positively impact the perception of Nigerian traders in the global crypto community. He stated he plans to create free seminars to educate individuals on crypto with his newfound fame and encourage them to join.

Related: Nigeria urged to adopt crypto regulations inspired by Europe

Regarding events that impact trust within the crypto community, Akinola emphasized that people should refrain from participating in pump-and-dump schemes, as these practices further contribute to the industry's lack of trust.

Nigeria’s crypto community had earlier raised concerns over a suspected pump-and-dump scheme by Afro-pop star Davido, who launched the meme token DAVIDO in May.

The community claimed that Davido had previously offloaded digital coins onto his fans, marking this as the second occurrence in the past three years, leaving his followers to absorb the losses.

In 2021, Davido promoted RapDoge before selling off more than $300,000 worth of the cryptocurrency to his fans.

Magazine: Caitlyn Jenner meme coin ‘mastermind’s’ celebrity price list leaked