Cryptocurrency might be the future of global finance, but most of the Nigerian government’s recent attempts to tap into its potential have either been faced with low adoption rates or have negatively impacted traders who are the main players in the country’s estimated $400m crypto market.

This is evident in the poor adoption of three-year-old eNaira—Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)—the scuffle with Binance, and the ban on peer-to-peer trading in an attempt to stabilise the country’s financial woes. Spending just a couple of hours anywhere in Nigeria will show you more about the fickle effectiveness of these policies than any amount of writing could. Yet, amidst the uncertainty of these decisions, the Federal Government through the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is now focusing on creating an indigenous blockchain, likely to be called “Nigerium.’’

Social media reactions have been swift and critical following the announcement. One user remarked, “The same country that has hounded the crypto space at every turn? Interesting.” Another user expressed concern, asking, “So how is that gonna be possible in a country that doesn’t support cryptocurrency and blockchain at all? Isn’t that concerning?”

Critics have also pointed out past failures, with one user commenting, “Another wasteful venture loading. Where is Muhammadu Buhari’s e-Naira CBDC, despite millions spent on it by Emefiele? A very wasteful country!”

Trust Nigerians to always voice their opinions cheekily when foul play is perceived. However, the government’s proposed blockchain creation isn’t necessarily crypto-linked, as many believe it to be. In that light, the next section of this article will explain how blockchain technology can be used outside the crypto industry, how Nigeria’s government intend to deploy its resourcefulness and the likelihood of its success.

Blockchain Technology Beyond Cryptocurrency

Though blockchain technology is often associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it has a wide range of applications beyond the digital financial sector due to its decentralised and tamper-proof features.

Essentially, a blockchain stores data in blocks, which are chain-linked in a documented order. This makes it very difficult to change any data without everyone in the network reaching a consensus.

Given this almost impregnable feature and transparency, blockchain offers numerous real-life applications that cut across different industries, mostly for the innovative way it stores data. Nigeria’s aim of leveraging the tech isn’t far-fetched — to protect the country’s data and promote national security, ensuring Nigerians’ data remains unchangeable, transparent, and secure from unauthorised access or tampering.

It’s visualised to safeguard citizens’ data and augment government services and could make Nigeria the second blockchain-powered government in Africa, following Ghana, which announced its plans earlier in May.

As far as the likelihood of success goes, it is feasible. If China’s national blockchain “RealDID” can verify the real-name identities of its over 1.4 billion population, then Nigeria’s estimated two hundred and sixteen million population should also be manageable.

But, given Nigeria’s unique challenges, what has been successful elsewhere does not guarantee the same outcome. Thus, expectations will remain cautious until substantial progress is made in the development and implementation of the national blockchain.