Abubakar Nur Khalil

With Africa's rise in share of global Bitcoin mining hashrate now just under 4%, the question is how this hash power is being used and by whom 📌 In my latest for Forbes Crypto, I look into Africa's "Hashrate Exfiltration Problem" and future outlook. "Put simply, “hashrate exfiltration” is the use of a region's hashrate by a foreign entity or power in furtherance of its interests, often at the region's expense. [...] The legacy of resource extraction in Africa may see another unfortunate renaissance in Bitcoin mining if care is not taken." "Africa’s resilience against all these odds will set the global template for building resilient money and energy infrastructure, ensuring a future of hope and abundance for all." https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/11/22/africas-bitcoin-mining-hashrate-exfiltration-problem/

Yet another world cup without Nigeria 🇳🇬💔

In March, the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 was passed in Nigeria which now officially recognizes Bitcoin as a security. Here's what it means for Nigerian Bitcoin founders, investors, and regulation in Africa 📝 My latest for Forbes Digital Assets 🔥 https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/04/30/nigerian-gov-passes-law-recognizing-bitcoin-as-a-security

With so many conferences, it gets difficult to navigate and keep track, from Africa to Europe, Asia to the Americas, here are the top 15 Bitcoin conferences from March to December 2025 🔥 🇱🇻🇺🇸🇳🇴🇨🇿🇹🇷🇹🇼🇲🇺🇨🇭🇧🇷🇫🇮🇦🇪🇭🇰🇳🇱🇨🇦 My latest for Forbes Digital Assets 📌 https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/02/28/the-top-15-bitcoin-conferences-in-2025-to-attend-from-around-the-world/

Great convo 📌

It's important to note that intelligence in one domain doesn't inherently translate to others. The shock comes when you assume an expert on topic X is somehow impervious to bias, propaganda, cognitive dissonance, and bad takes on topic Y. Know this and know peace.

Regarding the recent Proton Wallet, I respect their conscious effort to be transparent and open about the tradeoffs / threat model (especially in their recent blog posts; see below). I just tested out the wallet, great work. Though not perfect ATM, they seem to be on a good path so far in building a Bitcoin-only wallet to simplify sending and receiving Bitcoin for their 100 million Proton users. Presently, they appear to use the Bitcoin Dev Kit (BDK; see below) as a dependency, with coinjoin and the Lightning Dev Kit (LDK) on their radar. Hopefully, we will see silent payments integrated down the line, too. Nevertheless, as a Proton user, I look forward to seeing how the Proton Wallet evolves 🔥 - - - More Reading 📌 - Initial announcement:

Proton

Introducing Proton Wallet – a safer way to hold Bitcoin | Proton

Proton Wallet is an easy-to-use self-custodial wallet that makes financial freedom attainable for everyone.

- The wallet's security model:

Proton

Proton Wallet user experience and security model | Proton

This article reviews the key features and security architecture that make Proton Wallet a private and secure wallet that is as easy to use as email.

- Github repo:

GitHub

GitHub - ProtonWallet/andromeda: The andromeda libraries aims to provide logical blocks to build a privacy-focused, cross-platform, self-custody Bitcoin and Lightning wallet, integrated in Proton's ecosystem

The andromeda libraries aims to provide logical blocks to build a privacy-focused, cross-platform, self-custody Bitcoin and Lightning wallet, integ...

- Potential future dependencies:

GitHub

Update readme.md · ProtonWallet/andromeda@211dc5a

The andromeda libraries aims to provide logical blocks to build a privacy-focused, cross-platform, self-custody Bitcoin and Lightning wallet, integ...

The African Bitcoin ecosystem will ONLY move forward when we have more builders and value creators than talkers and value extractors.

In my latest piece for Forbes Crypto, I highlight the whirlwind of events following the controversial finance bill, the protests and its success, the resilience of the youth and their view of Bitcoin's role in Kenya's future 🇰🇪 ❤️ Noelyne Sumba, a stellar Kenyan Bitcoiner and Machakura team member, put it best, "Many young Kenyans see Bitcoin as a way to escape the restrictive monetary policies imposed by international financial institutions, which have contributed to the country's economic challenges. Integrating Bitcoin into the financial system could reduce reliance on foreign debt and offer a way out from oppressive government policies that hinder economic and individual growth." Very proud of—and inspired by—the resilience shown by fellow Kenyan Bitcoiners and the youth on the ground in fighting against this bill and winning. Here's to amplifying the voices of those we've lost over the last week and those who continue to fight 🕊 https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/06/26/kenyan-youth-embrace-bitcoin-amid-deadly-protests-over-finance-bill/

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