WITH EDUCATIONAL DRIVE, BITCOIN GAINS TRACTION IN WEST AFRICA

Nigeria, the crypto superpower and the region's economic engine, dominates Bitcoin (BTC) usage in West Africa. Against the backdrop of anti-French prejudice, however, Bitcoin education efforts are also brewing in French-speaking West Africa.

Senegal recently opened Boutique, its first physical Bitcoin exchange and education center, and the country of 17 million people will host another Bitcoin Forum in December in Dakar, where a pseudonymous local Bitcoin advocate known as Nourou runs an independent Bitcoin node beamed from space.

Next month, the Bitcoin-only Mastermind conference will be held in Benin, a 13-million-person country west of Nigeria. Bitcoin Mastermind, the country's first of its kind, brings together Bitcoin entrepreneurs and crypto aficionados from homegrown groups and firms such as Izichange, GoesPay, and Flash, and it provides a venue for locals to learn about Bitcoin.

Cointelegraph chatted with Nourou, the founder of Dakar Bitcoin Days and Bitcoin Senegal, and Loc Kassamoto, Bitcoin Mastermind, to further comprehend the Bitcoin and West African crypto evolution- or revolution.

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The West African CFA franc currency is used in French-speaking West African countries, which the Economist describes as a "colonial hangover." The Senegalese are vociferous in their disapproval of the money, with some Bitcoin supporters, such as local crypto enthusiast and businesswoman Mama Bitcoin, stating that complaining about the money is rather usual – an implicit criticism of post-colonial French policy in the region.

Anti-French animosity has always persisted in the region, but it has only recently shown itself in public demonstrations. Mali recently abandoned French as the country's official language, a policy in effect since the country's independence in 1960.

A recent military coup in Niger, east of Mali and north of Nigeria defeated French President Emmanuel Macron and France's military policy. According to the well-known French newspaper Le Monde, the coup was a "new heavy blow" to France's military policy in Niger's Sahel area.

Across French-speaking West Africa, there is a surge of alternative currency efforts. Growing numbers of Senegalese are flocking to Bitcoin as a savings and exchange mechanism, while in Benin, Bitcoin Mastermind's Kassamoto told Cointelegraph that the number of Beninois turning to Bitcoin is also growing.

Much financial conversation and instruction in the West takes place online. However, in West African countries, the emphasis is on actual meetups and face-to-face engagement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, debates regarding Bitcoin and money were transferred and confined to online platforms such as ClubHouse and X (previously Twitter), according to Nourou. Still, more and more physical locations have popped up.

Indeed, as Kassamoto explains, interaction in the real world is one of the keys to unlocking deeper levels of financial education and demonstrating how West Africans could use a decentralized currency like Bitcoin: "Bitcoin conferences, meetups, and shops provide opportunities for education, outreach, and direct interaction." Conferences and gatherings bring people together to share information and experiences."

Norou established Bitique, Dakar's first physical Bitcoin store for purchasing and selling Bitcoin. In addition to trading services, he explained, there will be instructional sessions for people to learn about Bitcoin in person: "Training courses will be around 10,000 francs [$16] for two or even three hours of training."

The in-person training complements a statewide series of classroom sessions provided by Bitcoin Senegal called the "Baol Digital Kids" program, which teaches children how to utilize Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.

Nourou recently received a Blockstream Satellite kit, which, if installed, will allow him to run a Bitcoin node immune to network outages. In West Africa, internet service might need more consistent and predictable. The satellite kit assures that any connected Bitcoin full node "will not be isolated or partitioned," with blocks streaming continuously for the node to validate, according to Blockstream.

According to Kassamoto, the money-making aspect of crypto lures an increasing number of people into the "crypto universe," but crypto scams, losses, and rug pulls degrade Bitcoin's attraction. The lure of crypto riches luring newcomers to Bitcoin is only sometimes a positive thing.

"It's toxic for Bitcoin because these people are very quickly disappointed with their loss and associate it with Bitcoin because they haven't even had time to understand the difference between the two," he explained.

The West African community should comprehend "Bitcoin, not crypto," according to Kassamoto.

There are more Bitcoin meetups, which means more chances to illustrate what many Bitcoin exchanges and thought leaders have been preaching for some time: that there may be a difference between Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto industry.

Large swaths of the Bitcoin community raised and then dropped the Central African Republic, which made headlines in 2022 for adopting Bitcoin as legal cash. Following its adoption of Bitcoin, it launched its own cryptocurrency, Sango Coin, and is now experimenting with tokenizing real-world assets such as farmland.

Another huge Bitcoin and educational conference will occur this year in Ghana, east of Benin. Strike CEO Jack Mallers and Human Rights Foundation senior strategy officer Alex Gladstein will talk in West Africa as part of a Bitcoin education campaign.