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Opinion

Discovering Bitcoin Through the #EndSARS Movement, Feat. Yele Bademosi & Akin Sawyerr

When the Nigerian government shut down #EndSARS protestors’ bank accounts, bitcoin and crypto became a way around.

By Nathaniel Whittemore
AccessTimeIconNov 11, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:29 a.m. UTC
AccessTimeIconNov 11, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. UTCUpdated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:29 a.m. UTC
Breakdown 11.11 #EndSARS
AccessTimeIconNov 11, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. UTCUpdated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:29 a.m. UTC

When the Nigerian government shut down EndSARS protestors’ bank accounts, bitcoin and crypto became a way around.

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This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io.

Yele Bademosi is CEO at Bundle social payments app and the founder of investment firm Microtraction. Akin Sawyerr is involved across the industry and leads operations at BarnBridge. 

Over the course of October 2020, the world’s attention became firmly fixed on a growing movement in Nigeria. With the hashtag #EndSARS, the movement was, on the one hand, about addressing police brutality. On the other hand, as our guests discuss, it was a broader awakening and a demand for generational economic opportunity. At one point, even Twitter founder Jack Dorsey called for people to donate bitcoin to help the movement. 

In this conversation, Yele and Akin discuss:

  • The state of the economy in Nigeria leading into the protests
  • Generational differences in political action 
  • Why the #EndSARS protests exploded into action in October
  • Why the movement turned to bitcoin to avoid bank confiscation 
  • How crypto can play a role in a brighter future

See also: Decentralized VPN Sees Increased Use in Nigeria Amid #EndSars Protests

Find our guests online:
Yele Bademosi - twitter.com/YeleBademosi
Akin Sawyerr - twitter.com/AkinSawyerr

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

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