Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange CoinOYO recently announced the addition of Dash to its offerings. Concerning Dash, CoinOYO also gave a nice endorsement:
“It is a good project backed by credible people.”
Many in the developed world focus on large-scale integrations, hoping for uptake by Coinbase and other major exchanges. Last year’s addition of Dash to both Bitfinex and Kraken resulted in huge price movements as the market saw these as significant developments. However, services like CoinOYO may give Dash an even bigger boost in the long run.
Where it’s needed
Many financial pundits decry cryptocurrency as an unnecessary innovation, pointing out that credit cards, traditional bank accounts and government-backed fiat work just fine. They are absolutely right – such things work just fine in the developed countries they live in. But in the developing world, many lack access to credit cards or traditional banks.
The vast majority of these, however, do have access to a cell phone where they can buy, sell and transfer cryptocurrency. In these developing countries, government-issued fiat often holds its value poorly or not at all. Venezuelans, Zimbabweans and others have found digital currency to be a blessing, as their national economies struggle.
Grass roots
Dash has been hard at work establishing grass-roots efforts in Nigeria, where CoinOYO is based, and other African countries. Other local teams are working diligently in Latin America and other developing regions. Such grass-roots efforts usually start out small, but once they gain traction they can grown explosively. In the US we’ve seen political movements like the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street flare up almost overnight.
CoinOYO and other cryptocurrency-based businesses are also taking hold in these developing regions. Nigeria and similar markets are vast and untapped, meaning that those who take the time and make investments there could reap significant rewards in the future. CoinOYO’s website lists their mission as:
“Our mission is to provide an easy interface needed for the massive adoption of blockchain & cryptocurrency in Nigeria, and also enable the Nigerian masses benefit from the various financial opportunities present in the Crypto Space.”
This mission is similar to Dash’s goal of providing financial freedom and independence from banks to those who desire it. While existing system work fine in some countries, Dash is charging forward in Africa in hopes of sparking a financial revolution.
