The Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paxful, Mr. Ray Youssef, has pledged to cooperate with the government and regulators of Nigeria’s financial system to evolve an innovative regulation of crypto-currency transactions in a manner that would widen financial inclusion, spread prosperity and eliminate poverty.
Youssef, who is based in the United States of America, said Nigeria is the world’s number one user of crypto-currency with 1.5 million users that have moved more than $1.5 billion worth of value in crypto-currency transaction, adding that the value has grown by 15 to 20 per cent since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) placed a restriction on the processing of crypto-currency transactions by commercial banks.
He said: “There is amazing opportunities in this continent especially in Nigeria. I will like to meet with the government one day to share my vision and listen to them to understand what their concerns are.
“We will give them the data and the information, show them what is happening so that we can come together and make an agreement to put a regulation that is innovation friendly that will help the youths to make money.
“We cannot do this with hate and animosity. We are all together in this: the youths, the rich, the poor, everyone is a member. We have to respect each other and work together with each other.
“I understand the central bank put the ban because they saw things moving fast because Nigerians can move things pretty fast when they are motivated.
“So, the CBN is concerned about safety with regard to money laundering and financing terrorism. These are pretty valid questions regulators all over the world, including the United States of America, are asking.”
He added: “We can engage them as we have been engaging them and we want to continue to engage them to show them that this is a safe and good thing that can create wealth for those at the top and those at the bottom and everyone in between.
“This is a pure marketplace you cannot really stop because it does not need a bank account. We just connect people together. We want to give them (regulators) the clarity that the people involved in the trading are not criminals but normal businesspeople that want to deal and transact with everybody, including the government.”
Youssef, said financial access should be viewed as fundamental human rights of every citizen that is pursuing legitimate business.
“The fact that people has to live in this world and do not have equal access to money is really a crime. Financial access should be a fundamental human right,” Youssef said.
He said Paxful, which was founded to give everyone equal access to finance with the belief that it is the key to a better world, was dedicated to creating, “a safe marketplace that gives people universal access to money and responsive instant support to customers 24/7 that listens and understands the people to build trust. Third, is building things that make using money easier.”
He said over five million people use Paxful to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) with almost 400 different payment methods from gift cards to bank transfers which connects users to practically any financial network in the world.
Thisday