Why Africans Should Embrace Ethereum Blockchain
At the onset, it was understood that the blockchain & cryptocurrency space was where loads of information were churned out on a per minute basis and individuals who came across it tend to feel lost and out of place — most especially in my side of the globe. There are a lot of things we don’t know about this technology even before embracing it.
And if you are familiar with the Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin (BTC), then you would know about the second largest cryptocurrency — Ether (ETH). What many of us wouldn’t know is that Eth/Ether doesn’t equate Ethereum — the former is a cryptocurrency while the latter is its platform. While Ethereum is a global, open-source platform for decentralized applications, it wasn’t created for Eth, rather Eth was created to financially support the project.
Now, let’s break Ethereum down a bit more. In simple structure engineering terms, Ethereum built a strong foundation where anyone can build blockchain-based applications of their choice on. This platform has no restriction whatsoever and is globally accessible. Unlike the traditional manner of handling data on the internet, Ethereum’s vision is to build a new internet where intermediaries and monopoly of data are nonexistent.
One thing should be made clear ahead, the first step to embracing something new or already existing as the case is here, is to first understand the roles/functions it plays. The list below isn’t all that the Ethereum Blockchain can do, it does so much more and I would encourage further individual study.
Privacy: since you are always on the internet most times, you would have come across an agreement of privacy provided by the sites you visit; long documents stating that your personal information won’t be shared et al. You should know already that that’s a foul! Your data isn’t private. However, with Ethereum, you won’t need to fill out a baseless list of forms requesting for your personal data before using any of the Ethereum dApp. According to them, they are building an economy based on value, and not surveillance.
Authority: Similar to privacy, the decentralized platform eliminates the ‘middle-men’ in your transaction processes. At this point, you dictate what you need and when you need them. It’s saying you are your own boss and you are unstoppable. Ethereum gives you that authority.
Financial Services: truth be told, since the beginning of the global pandemic — Covid 19 — I haven’t stepped into a banking hall, and most importantly, most of my online transactions hasn’t been so palatable from excess charges to failed transactions; I guess that’s one of our crosses to bear in this part of the world. Interestingly, to access Ethereum and its several products, all you need is the internet, which you already have.
Buying & Selling: I recently just wrote a piece on the other uses of Blockchain and one of it was for Supply Chain. As for Ethereum, the platform provides both parties involved, the merchant and the customer with a secured means of transacting business; funds will change hands if only what was agreed is provided.
Compatibility: one of the many functions of Ethereum is the possibility for developers to build on the existing platform which makes it easier for them. At the moment, several Decentralized Applications are making waves leveraging on the platform. You can find a number of them here.
In conclusion, everyone’s a winner with Ethereum. I hope in Africa that we get to embrace the numerous possibilities attached to this technology and do wonders with it just like some group of Africans are already doing.
