THELOGICALINDIAN - Nigeria is not alone Africas better cryptocurrency bazaar but is additionally a arch adopter of agenda currencies globally
Official abstracts appearance the country is able-bodied ahead of adolescent African countries. Citizens of the West African accompaniment use cryptocurrencies for cantankerous bound payments as able-bodied as for all-embracing remittances amid abounding growing use cases. However, this advance drive faces a blackmail from an old carnality — scams.
Cryptocurrency-related scams abuse to beat the blockchain amplitude as new ones get launched all the time. Adding to the woes is the all-around pandemic, covid-19, which appears to accept opened a new avenue for criminals.
Many anxious stakeholders are now adopting the anxiety as they try to about-face the course adjoin criminals. The Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Affiliation of Nigeria (SIBAN), the agnate of Nigeria’s blockchain association, is one alignment aural the alarm.
Scams: A Threat to Crypto Adoption
SIBAN is allowable with announcement cryptocurrency acceptance as able-bodied as ensuring customer aegis adjoin crypto scams. The alignment believes the scourge, if larboard unchecked, will not alone impede added advance of the amplitude but may able-bodied about-face accessible aplomb in the arising technology.
Senator Iyere Ihenyen, General Secretary (GS) of SIBAN, speaks to news.Bitcoin.com. He starts by answer why Africa’s best crawling nation has been grappling with scams for years.
“So to absolutely accept the ascent amount of scams in Nigeria, it is basic to accept the context. A country of over 200 actor bodies with a aerial amount of adolescence unemployment and underemployment, Nigeria has abominably fabricated itself a anchorage for scammers,” explains Ihenyen.
The Nigeria bazaar presents scammers with a ample basin of atrocious bodies to target. Still, some abatement victim to scams not because they are atrocious but because of “sheer greed.”
As Ihenyen observes, scammers are now “riding on the ascent acceptance of the blockchain and cryptocurrencies to butt alike added associates of the public.”
The GS is asked about Inksnation, an advance belvedere that has been labeled a betray by some Nigerians. Ihenyen, who says he aboriginal heard of this declared betray in December 2019, dismisses claims by its founders that the advance arrangement has its own blockchain.
The GS is absolute in labeling the platform:
According to Ihenyen, Inksnation typifies scams that commonly booty advantage of Nigeria’s bread-and-butter bearings to bamboozle bags of biting investors.
Regulatory Response
Still, Ihenyen says adverse to a acumen that annihilation is actuality done, efforts are advancing to rid the amplitude of scams. For instance, he says SIBAN and Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accept both issued accessible alerts admonishing the accessible about Inksnation.
Predictably, the alerts accept not chock-full Inksnation from continuing to allure added Nigerians to advance with it. Ihenyen credibility to two accessible affidavit why Inksnation is acutely unfazed by the alerts and why Nigerians arise aloof to the alerts.
Ihenyen suggests that Inksnation is acquainted that SIBAN can alone affair advisories but lacks the ability to accomplish or to accomplish arrests.
On the added hand, the SEC may be in a position to account an activity to be taken adjoin Inksnation. However, by advisedly labeling itself as a blockchain entity, an able space, it thinks the regulator lacks acceptable acknowledged area to booty action.
In addition, Ihenyen highlights the adversity of acceptable a acquisitive broker who has fabricated up his apperception to airing away. When SIBAN issued an active adjoin Inksnation, it accustomed animadversion instead of plaudits, the GS says.
As a result, Inksnation continues to accomplish unhindered.
In the meantime, Ihenyen suggests the aforementioned socio-economic and acknowledged ambiance to be amenable for enabling two added arresting advance scams to proliferate. Ethereum Million Money and Forsage are two added advance platforms which began “trending from the ages of March till date.”
According to some Nigerian media reports, Ethereum Million Money is a multi-level business betray that has some investors already counting losses. Similarly, a address by behindmlm.com — a betray tracking website — acutely backs Ihenyen’s affirmation about Forsage. Forsage has additionally been flagged by regulators in the Philipines.
At the time of writing, SIBAN had aloof accustomed beginning complaints about addition accessible scam, Lionshare.
SIBAN’s Long-Term Plan to Counter Scams
Turning his absorption to what SIBAN is planning to do to barrier incidences of cryptocurrency scams, Ihenyen says they are attractive to coact with agreeing institutions in adopting awareness.
“SIBAN affairs to accomplice with Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), the Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria (CDIN) and added bodies in the amplitude to barrage the Anti-Scam Alert Project (ASAP).”
Finally, Ihenyen says SIBAN has a “special blockchain apprenticeship activity loading, in accord with baddest bounded and all-around blockchain & crypto platforms.”
What do you anticipate of Nigeria’s botheration with scams? Share your thoughts in the comments area below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Inksnation, SIBAN
