As we come to the close of 2021, a year that has seen us come to terms with many new realities following the vagrancies of the pandemic, the New Year carries with it a sense of bold intent.
The majority have either hit or are near rock bottom, and there is something to be said for a man or woman whose options have diminished.
We are entering polls season. This catalyses our festering ambition to not only survive but also thrive. Survival is making sure what is at hand can go for longer while thriving means first edging our way out of the Covid shaped pit that the majority are in and building hope for the future.
The blockchain and its more famous scion cryptocurrency, now have all the factors needed to drive adoption at scale aligned. I chanced on an article from M-Pesa’s early days when the now celebrated mobile money platform rubbed the establishment and the status quo – read as commercial banks – the wrong way.
Then it was moving a paltry Sh4 billion a month with about three million registered users. If not for the literal hardheadedness of a handful of individuals, it was off to the dead pool. We were also reeling from the effects of pyramid schemes that had milked some Kenyans dry, education and social status counting for naught.
While the Central Bank has not outrightly banned crypto, its stance has seen commercial banks actively prevent interactions with global exchanges citing no regulatory guidance.
Depending on which side your bread is buttered, this draws polarised opinions. On one side, it is your money and should translate in your ability to move, invest, save, donate or waste it in whatever way you desire, with oversight only necessary on its acquisition. On the other, it is the banks’ infrastructure and license.
They can do what they deem fit within their network, same for mobile money platforms and mobile networks that provide much of the infrastructure that facilitates movement of value.
The march to scalable adoption needs to be seen and appreciated beyond the current arbitrage of more people getting to own a piece of one coin or another.
Linked to getting remunerated for a certain task, growing savings and investments at more favorable rates than local markets can deliver, ensuring the business can be conducted in trustless environments, and buffering against inflation, the rails can and will be built outside the traditional if need be.
The writing is on the wall.
https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/technology/ground-now-set-for-crypto-take-centre-stage-3660796
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