Abjcoin is Nigeria’s First Cryptocurrency, Raising Funds via ICO. Has a Whitepaper

First, I do not support cryptocurrency; I am a big fan of blockchain, nevertheless.  The most popular cryptocurrency is Bitcoin and it is made possible by blockchain technology.

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and to control the creation of additional units of the currency.  Cryptocurrencies are classified as a subset of digital currencies and are also classified as a subset of alternative currencies and virtual currencies.

Yes, even though I am not a fan of this type of currency, it does not mean that when guys have brought it home, to Abuja, that I cannot write about it. A group has published a whitepaper for Nigeria’s first cryptocurrency. The name of the currency is ABJCOIN. They are also raising money via initial coin offering (ICO) around it.

An unregulated means by which funds are raised for a new cryptocurrency venture. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is used by startups to bypass the rigorous and regulated capital-raising process required by venture capitalists or banks. In an ICO campaign, a percentage of the cryptocurrency is sold to early backers of the project in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies.

What is Abjcoin?

According to their website, this is what it is:

Abjcoin will connect banks, payment providers, digital asset exchanges and corporates to provide one frictionless experience to use money globally. Abjcoin aims to provide a payment process and trade exchange between Nigerians and other part of the world. This is achieved through the Abjcoin global trade market where African fiat currencies can be paired for and against the Abjcoin, and also through it marketplace were goods and services can be exchanged between Nigerians and other part of the world in escrow payment through Abjcoin.

AbjCoin Blockchain makes use of the Proof of stake algorithm as a system of securing the network. Users who keep their wallet open to secure the network via staking will get from 1% to 100% interest per year (varies according to network weight)

Anyone can run the wallet and transact with the same anonymity as Bitcoin, or better. No personal identifying information is required to create and use AbjCoin addresses for sending and receiving funds both locally and globally.

Everyone shares the bank history, so it’s entirely transparent.It is extremely fast, you can send money to anyone in the world within seconds.There is no fear of been hack because there is no central server that AbjCoin blockchain can be hacked from.

All payments in the world can be fully interoperable. AbjCoin allows any bank, business or individual to securely send and receive payments anywhere at any time, with or without a bank account. AbjCoin increases global access to commerce.

I do not want to write so much here to avoid sending the wrong message. Please you invest or participate at your own risk. But let me say that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria must lead in this sector and come up with regulations. You cannot stop blockchain and we need to know the modalities that will make it possible for industry players to connect into Nigeria’s financial sector, at scale and in real time.

The Industry Change

There are many activities in this space: “A consortium of Japanese banks plan to introduce a digital currency “J Coin” ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as they respond to the threat from China’s Alibaba, which recently launched its mobile-phone payments service in the country”. Nigeria may need to have its own strategy.

The J Coin is designed to wean the Japanese off their heavy dependency on cash, which accounts for 70 per cent of all transactions by value. That is higher than any developed country, which have on average reduced cash utilisation to only 30 per cent. “We like cash, because Japan is a very safety-conscious country,” said Mr Sato. “But cash is not so productive so we have to change the structure from cash to electronic money.”

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