“Blockchain is freedom from authoritarianism” -Olóyè discusses crypto, web3 in Africa

Temitope Akintade
*Oloye co-founded CryptoRoundupAfrica alongside Groovy, Kidbold and others | *Oloye believes poverty is one of the problem militating against crypto adoption in Africa | *He believes Web3 is the future of the web


People see other people getting rich, real or imaginary and go in with the mind it’ll be the same and they don’t even try to learn first.”

Oluniyi Oloye, known as Olóyè on Twitter, was first introduced to crypto in 2014, opening his first Bitcoin wallet in the same year, during his first year at the University.

But, like most people that came in contact with cryptocurrency in the early days, he did not make any investment until the pandemic in 2020, when he had ample time to look at it again.

Oloye has other engagements and according to him, it has not been an easy task shuffling all of them.

It’s hard. Very hard. I think about quitting my job every day but I need a plan A-Z. So I just plan to manage my time as best as I can.

Oloye

Technext spoke to him, and he shared his experience and what he is doing with CryptoRoundupAfrica.

CCSwap

Oloye founded CCSwap, possibly the largest telegram crypto community. CCSwap was launched after the CBN banned crypto transactions, to build a fraud-free p2p channel that, according to him, has recorded zero fraud so far.

CCSwap is now a full-fledged crypto community focused on onboarding newbies and providing the information they need to get started. 

About CryptoRoundupAfrica

Oluniyi Oloye
CryptoRoundUpAfrica logo

Oluniyi Oloye co-founded CryptoRoundUpAfrica alongside Groovy, Kidbold and others. CryptoRoundupAfrica (CRA) is a crypto media company focused on connecting Africans to the Web3 economy. On the ways ‘CRA connects Africans to the global Web3 economy”, Oloye says:

We start by onboarding newbies, providing resources and opportunities which they can take advantage of. Currently, we are doing our writer’s program where we help budding writers build a portfolio as crypto/blockchain writers. We are also starting Web3 education for kids in selected primary schools through the CRA Foundation.

Okoye

Web3 is the new frontier of the web and Oloye/CRA see themselves as a bridge. It is totally free to join and participate in the platform because they “want to help as many Africans as they can get across.”

CRA

The predominant challenge Oloye and CRA have faced in the African crypto space is widespread poverty. Many of the web3 opportunities available need a level of financial buoyancy. 

“There’s the problem of high barriers to entry, from gas fees to internet costs. Some of the opportunities we have been most grateful for are those that come with a low barrier to entry like our partnership with MVM, a gaming guild getting built by Yele Badamosi and my friend Ayo Salako. They give play 2 earn gaming scholarships and bear all the cost involved for successful applicants.”

On crypto regulation and the get-rich-quick syndrome

Oloye believes there is a direct connection between poverty and desperation, and Nigerian citizens as a case study.

A lot of people don’t have the time, patience and financial strength to stay patient and go through the process. People see other people getting rich, real or imaginary, and go in with the mind that it’ll be the same and they don’t even try to learn first.

Oloye
Crypto adoption in Nigeria
Crypto adoption in Nigeria

Last week, CBN fined banks for allowing crypto transactions., and the Web3 evangelist believes the sanction is untoward.

“But this is why web3 is important, especially for us as Africans. We saw a glimpse of it during the ENDSARS protests. CBN cannot ban the blockchain. A permission-less, trustless, decentralised financial system is more important for those of us that live in somewhat autocratic states where CBN doesn’t have to go through NASS to make a law that affects the lives of Nigerians. It’s freedom from authoritarianism.”

Oloye believes the profiling of young Nigerians making a life with crypto will take a new dimension due to the ban. He is of the opinion that we cannot prevent police harassment because it is a political consequence of the electoral choices Nigerians have made so far. 

“So we have to make better electoral choices. Including organising, sensitising and voting. ASUU will continue to go on strike until students vote as a single bloc. One million students all signing the same document that they will only vote for a president that will solve the ASUU crisis and actually going through with it will send a signal that politicians will take seriously. All politicians care about is numbers. It’s the same for us, crypto enthusiasts. We must organise politically.”

Oloye’s standpoint is that crypto should be regulated but not before the government has a proper understanding of the whole concept. 

We cannot get the adoption we need without government sign off. But regulation should be about protecting investors and not to kill innovation.

Oloye

Oloye and Web3

Oluniyi Oloye is a staunch proponent of the trendy concept known as Web3. Nothing makes sense except in contrast with another thing. According to him, web3 makes sense in comparison with the current iteration of the web – web2. 

“Google harvest user data to target ads better. They make ad money. A web3 company might do the same as Brave Browser ($BAT) does. But the key difference is the user also gets a portion of this ad revenue. So web3 puts the power back into the hands of the users. You pay to buy and play Call of Duty, Axie Infinity pays you to play the game.”

Nigerians are already tapping into web3 resources and possibilities, substantiated by the enormous number of them that are into GameFi and NFTs.

2022 is going to be a great year for CRA as they are currently undergoing structural rebranding. 


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