There are responsibilities on those in wealthy countries who want global adoption

Before I head back out into the field I wanted to leave this here. It's long by this sub's standard, but you can do it.

Having lived in Africa for the better part of three decades I've witnessed oppression, dictatorships, and genocide, all up close. It's a far cry from the comfortable life I had growing up in the US.

I've also witnessed the "Leapfrog Generation" in real time as they have transformed life on this continent (Leapfrog Generation is the massive youth population who skipped landlines and computers and went straight to mobile platforms due to lack of access to the former).

The future of blockchain and cryptocurrency isn't "starting" because a Latin American authoritarian made Bitcoin legal tender so he can enrich himself and avoid sanctions, or because someone saw Bitcoin on a formula one car, the potential future has been playing out in Africa for years in a meaningful way.

Here virtual money is as commonly understood as growing up without a proper banking system. Because of this everything cryptocurrencies aim to solve is naturally baked into the economies of places like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and many more.

-A large population without traditional bank access

-A massive population under 30

-Tech-Savvy

-Already have a virtual money infrastructure that's been "easily" adapted to actual payment-for-goods plugins for cryptocurrencies

There's no reason to look anywhere else for a "bullish" and fertile testing ground than right here in the countries of Africa.

Some statistics:

Total value of Bitcoin transactions under $10,000 (USD):

January 2020: 306K ($154.5M)

June 2020: 601K ($316.1M)

with continued growth

~60% of Africans are under 25

-By 2045 African continent will have the largest workforce on the planet

-33% of Nigerians (largest population and economy) use cryptocurrency, and not just for remittances but for paying for goods

-54% of Africans surveyed were willing to adopt a "one-world cryptocurrency."

Luno was early to the market and has worked to expand crypto adoption by educating people about the technology, and it's paid off because now almost 5 million of their 7 million users are in Africa.

This is where cryptocurrencies are actually experimenting with the true purpose of the technology, but there's a dark side that's completely out of their hands, and if you're reading this it likely involves you.

There's no question that crypo's adoption has been accompanied by a plethora of scams and illicit activity. This is the unavoidable consequence of an emerging and unregulated technology, but crime is manageable with time.

People in this community like to casually throw around things like "crypto is freedom to the people" largely from the comfort of their developed nation, from behind the protection of their prolific militaries, and within a system where if cryptocurrency fully collapsed they would still be living better than most of the 1.37 billion people here. There are exceptions, of course.

The reality of the "freedom from oppression" provided by cryptocurrencies is much different looking from the outside in. At the end of the day many of these people are using cryptocurrency much differently than you are. While it does serve as a speculative investment vehicle here, it also represents much more. "Diamond hands" (cringe af btw) aren't an option when you use it for purchasing food.

All the hope for the technology's future isn't in their hands, though. No matter how much it may improve lives, no matter how much it may increase access to a global financial system, at the end of the day wealthy countries determine how much, if at all, this technology will be part of their future.

This is for three reasons:

-Wealthy nations have the people who control the bulk of the investment that determines its value and funds future investment

-Wealthy nations have the power to decimate said value with regulations/bans that would dramatically affect the markets, leaving poor people holding nearly worthless assets (this could shift but right now the future is controlled by wealthy nations and citizens of those nations)

-Their own governments cracking down for a variety of reasons, many of which are about control

The first two are a result of the reality of life in historically impoverished nations who disproportionately affected by the decisions of wealthy countries in a global economy, but with respect to cryptocurrency this impact is huge.

The last one is too complicated for this post but it's greatly influenced by the first two.

One of the most frustrating things about this sub is how casually people disregard these realities while acting against their own best interest by pushing terrible narratives while ignoring the interest of those who are becoming increasingly dependent on this tool.

Like it or not what's said in this echo chamber matters. This subreddit is quoted across publications that are read internationally, and it's increasingly becoming a source of dissuading people's interest in the space.

The endless "diamond hands, "to the moon," and "hodle" posts and comments may appear "funny" but they come off to everyone else as a group of people incapable of intelligent, nuanced discourse.

Add to this the celebrations, not to mention justifications, of propping up some of the world's most oppressive leaders and it comes across as a special type of tone deaf to people who have lived through, or currently live under oppressive conditions.

This type of behavior only lends credit to those who believe the entire idea of cryptocurrency is a joke, while giving them ample ammunition to use against it. This has real-world implications in a country like the US where media fight for clicks that shape the public narrative.

"Bukele uses Bitcoin to avoid sanctions after tightening his grip on El Salvador"

This wouldn't be a good look in the headlines for the people trying to get cryptocurrency adoption, especially after praising him. It also only serves to convince wealthy nations to ban cryptocurrencies. The answer is no, you cannot separate Bukele from the action. That's not how the real world works.

This is especially sad because there are so many other stories happening in other parts of the world worthy of public attention.

I have no illusions this will change behavior here. Monetizing karma makes forms a nearly impenetrable echo chamber of misinformation and confirmation bias regardless of consequence. After all, the same financial incentives that have degraded news coverage in the US are on full display in this subreddit.

I do hope that at least a couple of you will look into some of the wonderful things happening in Africa and talk about those, and their challenges. It's an early, even if incomplete, potential real-world "proof-of-concept."

It's far from perfect, it may ultimately fail, but it's an example of actual real-world utility beyond speculative investment and remittances on a relatively large scale. It's also doing amazing things such as helping to stabilize smaller economies.

Finally, it's okay that cryptocurrency doesn't have all the answers, and people should stop pretending it does. It's also not perfect, and that's okay too. Nothing ever will be.

tl;dr: some discussion can't and shouldn't be reduced to two sentences. Stop being lazy and read