TwoCents

Ainomugisha Barry

Co-founder & director @ Skill Haven - crypto Start up

Date

Jul 04th to Jul 10th, 2022

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Loic Bethel Dje

Youth and Apex Performance Mentor | Initiator @ PureBreedSbe

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About Ainomugisha Barry

1. A Debater with an illustrious record. 2. Served as Presidential Advisor to the Makerere Law Society. 3. Co Founded Skill Haven Africa. 4. Member of the Blockchain Association of Uganda 5. A trader in crypto with sound Financial Advisory.

INTERVIEW

QUESTIONS

These interview questions were brought to you by TwoCents and Ntamugabumwe Victor

What is Blockchain technology?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

Blockchain technology is simply a ledger that facilitates recording & distribution of digital information in a decentralised and immutable system.

TwoCents

What are cryptocurrencies and crypto assets. Juxtapose the discussion with Fiat currency?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets built on the blockchain technology. Crypto assets are basically the different Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum among several others.

TwoCents

How can we foster an africentric approach towards crypto for monetary sovereignty and independence in Africa?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

That's an interesting question that can be best answered with a rhetoric question "what does the current African monetary sovereignty or independence offer to Africans and why should its replacement be a major concern?" A global financial inclusive system represented by crypto and blockchain technology should not be a threat to African States. States are not losing absolute control over the monetary system, they are instead having unprecedented dynamic control of decentralised finance. The only concern states have is that they may lose authority to manipulate currencies for their own motives and cripple economies at will. If that is the kind of monetary sovereignty that is threatened, then we ought to celebrate. I think there's so much potential and beneficial use for Africa than there is a threat.

TwoCents

How can one invest in crypto assets. What are the avenues for investments and what are the possible usual risks for such an investment?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

There are various avenues for investment in crypto. The most convenient being the use of crypto exchange platforms such as Binance, FTX, Coinbase, Yellow Card, Paxful, Luno etc that are in the industry. User must do their own research to make informed decisions on which platforms to use and there are a few points to consider i.e fiat ramps for easy conversion of fiat to crypto, withdraw options, transactional fees, minimum capital requirements in investment etc. There are also risks involved and I also implore prospective investors to acquaint themselves about the market risks such as volatility, loss of funds through erroneous chain use in transfers etc

TwoCents

What steps have states in Africa taken to either, ban, adopt or regulate crypto and crypto assets?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

African States have had a very slow paced response to crypto and blockchain. Some countries have expressly banned the use of crypto, other only issued warnings that crypto does not constitute legal tender and interestingly, some have massively adopted Bitcoin as national currency. So the approach is uncoordinated and varying.

TwoCents

What are the benefits of using cryptocurrency and crypto assets?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

There are various benefits of using Cryptocurrencies since crypto assets can be used both as an investment and a payment system. For example, Bitcoin is the most renown crypto and it is also the most valuable digital asset. It can be used as an investment asset for income/profit accumulation and as a payment model for daily transactions. The other benefits include exclusion of intermediaries from financial transactions such as banks and thus low transaction costs, security and privacy in transactions on the blockchain. Notably, crypto assets grow in value owing to the market trends and principles of demand and supply which means that the holder of any assets is likely to accumulate gains from the use of crypto.

TwoCents

What do you think the future looks like with crypto in finance on the African continent?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

The future of finance is thrilling with the emergence of crypto. The field of finance is undergoing 'factory reset' and no one can accurately predict what exactly the future may look like but we can at least agree that the field of finance will be people centred, cheaper, inclusive, wealth generating and revolutionary.

TwoCents

Do crypto currencies and crypto assets posses the attributes of money and normal assets?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

Absolutely, cryptocurrencies posses all the attributes of money. Money is anything that is universally accepted to be representative of value and trust. Bitcoin has attained the universal acceptance as a representation of value and there are several use cases of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange across the global. Bitcoin represents a better and valuable monetary system than the current fiat system that is not backed by anything of value. Since the depegging of fiat off the gold standard, paper money is only backed by central govt authority and thus subject to manipulation by the same authorities.

Asking about whether crypto assets have normal asset attributes is equivalent to asking about the value proposition of crypto i.e Bitcoin. Bitcoin has very unique utility fundamentals and value cores established by the process of its creation (mining), it has a definite supply and cannot be duplicated just like any other valuable asset. All assets experience up and down turns owing to the investor confidence in the particular asset and the same metrics determine the price of crypto assets.

TwoCents

Do you think crypto regulation is possible and how can this be done?

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

However complex, crypto regulation is possible. There are conflicting opinions from crypto advocates and enthusiats on the topic of regulation. I believe that for accelerated crypto adoption, regulation is pertinent. Cryptocurrency by its decentralised nature has aspects that can't be regulated. However, there are attributed in the crypto space that can be regulated such as consumer protection targeted regulations about how end users are protected, operations of exchange platfoms for accountability mechanisms, initial Coin Offers to sieve authentic from scam offers and launches. Regulation does not eliminate the unique attributes of using crypto such as anonymity in transactions, unlimited transfers, decentralisation and extremely low transfer rates.

TwoCents

Briefly explain whether crypto can foster financial inclusion in Africa.

AINOMUGISHA BARRY

Financial inclusion in Africa is facilitated by structural constraints in traditional finance. Scaling of traditional Financial infrastructure to foster massive inclusion is costly and has low return in Africa. The Internet has continuously bridged the gap between institutions and services globally and that created a fertile ground for crypto adoption and usage. Crypto and blockchain technology have a higher pentration than traditional finance, more scalable via the Internet and offer disruptive services and products such as cheaper transactions, higher return on staking/savings, tradable assets among others. Blockchain presents enormous potential in financial inclusion through global accessibility, open source and non bureaucratic procedures.

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Loic Bethel Dje

Youth and Apex Performa... @ PureBreedSbe

Fawaz Ayoola Product designer @ Freelance

Lagos, Nigeria •

Hi Barry, I have few questions to ask

1. How fast is cryptocurrency development taking place in Uganda or let's say Africa in general?

Can an African start up draw investors easily with good proposals.

2. What cryptocurrency project can you recommend at the moment

3 Answer requests

Chinomso Uzoeto

Growth Marketing @ TwoCents

Lagos, Nigeria •

Hello Barry, Thank you for this session. What would you say are your most remarkable achievements as a: 1. Crypto trader? 2. As a trainer for aspiring crypto traders? How many have you trained so far? And what amazing things have your students done? Thanks again.

2 Answer requests

Ainomugisha Barry Co-founder & director @ Skill Haven - cry...

Kampala •

The most amazing things about Skill Haven are;

We have created tangible impact in the mushrooming crypto space in Uganda. Some people who have been part of our education programmes and events have picked up crypto/blockchain focused careers like crypto content creators, journalists, writers, Web3 developers, influencers etc
The other most interesting thing about Skill Haven is that we are the only crypto & Blockchain Education focused start up in Uganda.Skill Haven has various programmes and we've reached out to over 500 participants in our education programs through open public events/meetups and personal encounters. I can't point out the most amazing thing but people are making great strides in the crypto & blockchain space and that is our ultimate pride.