This is an opinion editorial by Robert Hall, a content creator and small business owner.
What is the most likely path to hyperbitcoinization? This is a question that has come up in my mind time and time again. Will it be a top-down implementation like we saw in El Salvador last year? Regarding world leaders, Nayib Bukele is the rare exception to the rule. Most world leaders think within a predefined box of fiat options.
Will adoption look more people-powered like in Nigeria, where Bitcoin was integral to funding the youth-led protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in October 2020, after protesters’ bank accounts were frozen?
Bitcoin adoption in Nigeria has continued to grow despite their central bank banning legacy financial institutions in Nigeria from interacting with Bitcoin at all. Bitcoin P2P trading in Nigeria is up 27 percent despite the ban.
Bitcoin adoption in Nigeria and El Salvador are two examples of opposite sides of the adoption spectrum. Both are working despite legal hurdles and educating more people about Bitcoin.