Capital Controls and Ponzi Schemes: How Nigeria Is Discovering Bitcoin
The price collapse of “black gold” locked Nigerians into their economy. Now, “digital gold” is providing some Nigerians with a way out. Only three years ago, crude oil cost over $100 a barrel. But that peak came tumbling down. Throughout 2014 and 2015, oil prices took an almost unprecedented plunge to the $30 range, and is currently trading around $50 a....
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As Ponzi schemes make inroads into the Nigerian investment ecosystem, the next generation of leaders are indirectly learning to rely on luck and chance rather than genuine mental empowerment in the pursuit of their life goals. It has become a pattern for investment schemes whether genuine or not to aim at making inroads into the Nigerian investment ecosystem. This move appears to be paying off as most of these schemes have received their biggest patronage from Nigeria. Hetty Orkuma, a Nigerian businesswoman and entrepreneur says: “Any business investment or otherwise not thinking of....
This past week the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria has warned its residents about virtual currency investments. The agency’s warning has bundled bitcoin investment with two Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) operations well known for deceptive activities. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria Conflates Bitcoin Investment with MLM....
The lynchpin of Inksnation, one of Nigeria’s biggest crypto Ponzi Schemes, Omotade-Sparks Amos Sewanu, has been captured. According to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Sewanu, who was on the run, was nabbed in Sokoto, a city located in the northwest part of the country. Still, in its May 28 Twitter statement, the EFCC said it would provide details on Sewanu’s capture later. End of the Run The capture of the Inksnation creator comes a few months after the EFCC’s publication of a notice that asked for the Nigerian public’s help in....
Is it really necessary to implement AML and KYC regulations for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? There has been some debate on the need of blanket Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations for Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Even though it is a long-standing debate, it was further fueled by a recent blog post by Tim Swanson, the Director of Market Research at R3CEV, where he calls for such regulations by giving examples of few frauds and Ponzi schemes in the cryptocurrency sector. Ponzi Schemes and Frauds Were There Even before Bitcoin. Greed is an....
Certain organization such as MMM Global have been accepting bitcoin payments in what appears to be a rehashing of the pyramid scheme of the same name that was started back in the Soviet Union. Now, CEO Bobby Lee and the BTCC team issued a warning to its customers and potential bitcoin investors that BTCC is in no way affiliated with such schemes, and that investors must consider validating the entity promoting any bitcoin related investments to ensure its legitimacy. Over the past few months, customers of prominent bitcoin exchanges and investment firms like BTCC and San Francisco-based....