Jing Jing Liu (MacEwan University)

Cryptocurrency and the Social Repair of Middle-Class Political Potency in Nigeria

In October 2020, Bitcoin, a global cryptocurrency, served as a crucial financial lifeline to sustain #EndSARS, a country-wide citizen campaign against police brutality in Nigeria, bypassing government attempts to freeze donations. Besides its emergency use during civil protests, cryptocurrency is envisioned to repair citizens’ growing fear of political impotence through its everyday role in combating national economic distress. Members of the Nigerian middle class increasingly rely on cryptocurrency for savings, payments, and remittances to maintain their collective middle-class status. Thus, contrary to libertarian ideals of using cryptocurrency to evade the state, Nigerians deploy it to capture the state, restoring their political potency through monetary sovereignty.