Banking magnate Nathan Rothschild once intimated that the person/entity that controls a nation’s money supply controls that nation. If Rothschild’s quote applies, and one thinks of the Black community as a nation, Black folks are being controlled by people outside of their community. In other words, White-owned financial institutions. If entrepreneurs Sinclair Skinner and Christopher Mapondera have anything to say about it, the Black community will be the on purveyor of its own finances, through their Pan-African, Bitcoin-based financial solutions company, BitMari.
Naturally, most Black people’s money is held by a White-owned financial institution, for the most part. This is the reason woke and influential Atlanta emcee Killer Mike, other celebs and community leaders voiced the call for the #BankBlack Challenge. Thousands answered that call and several Black banks benefitted from the challenge. For example, OneUnited Bank enjoyed an influx of $3 million, after folks opened accounts for $100 a pop. Though the fervor has died down somewhat, the challenge remains one of the most profound movements of 2016. Black folks were urged to show unity and funnel much needed Black funds into ou rcommunities. Alas, this challenge is great in theory, but due to the dearth of brick and mortar locations of these banks, it’s impractical for most. Additionally, we all saw the disaster that prepaid cards can be during the Rush Card calamity, when patrons could not access their money. Western Union charges high rates to send funds. This is where BitMari steps in. With its Bitcoin technology, BitMari can guarantee secure, self-controlled, cheap transactions in an unregulated market.
Using BitMari’s wallet, the power is taken away from financial institutions, as users can transact funds in the form of bitcoins. All you need is a smartphone or computer. “We [Black people] don’t control the means or the infrastructure of financing. We don’t control the banks. We don’t control the way money is moved. What Bitcoin technology does, in a very strong way, is it allows you–without having a bank account–to be able to store your money and act as your own bank,” explained Skinner. “If we get enough of our people to engage in this technology early, we hope that we can help free our people from the problems with credit cards, stuff like the Rush Card fiasco or some of the predatory lenders or Western Union. We’ll be able to save money for our people and they can turn that money and invest it again. We see this tech as the best way for our folks to maximize the return on their money. Now they have value. Now they can store their money and you don’t have to ask permission to use it. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
To see more, visit BitMari’s official website at www.bitmari.com.
