Ethiopia's Best Chance at Adopting Bitcoin

Project Mano, an Ethiopian group lobbying the government to embrace Bitcoin, published an open letter to Samson Mow – and what’s more, Mow responded.

The group calls itself a movement started by Bitcoiner Ethiopians looking to orange pill their government. Their initial proposal to the Ethiopian Prime Minister was written in 2020, when the price of Bitcoin was just $10k USD.

The new and open letter to the former Blockstream CSO, Samson Mow, argues that full Bitcoin integration would not only benefit Ethiopia, but also the currency itself. It stresses the importance of Ethiopia’s government not only acquiring Bitcoin, but also holding it long-term, and points to the country’s currently untapped hydroelectric power resources, which are capable of generating 6000 MW of electricity.

Samson Mow, in turn, tweeted that he was all for it.

All in all, the letter lists eleven key social, economic, and technological factors that make Ethiopia an ideal site to fully integrate Bitcoin. Reasons include sudden inflation during the pandemic, vast untapped resources of hydroelectric and geothermal energy for mining operations, and a population which is mostly unbanked.

The project will, however, face a few challenges, like avoiding government corruption, and navigating the significant number of people who live without electricity.

Nevertheless, Project Mano and Samson Mow are convinced that a full Ethiopian adoption of Bitcoin would generate momentum for the entire African continent.

The letter leaves off with a macro-view of Ethiopia’s place within Africa, and its pioneering track record as home to some of history’s most complex ancient civilizations.

“Ethiopia has led Africa to make wise economic and cultural decisions countless times,” the letter concludes. “It is an inspiration and breath of hope for the whole of Africa for having resisted colonization. Ethiopia is home to the African Union and the birthplace of humanity. Ethiopia can lead Africa into the bitcoin future.”