Ep 32. Lightning: life or death?

This weekend, Warri, a city I grew up in crowned a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/oluofwarri/">new king</a>. I loved seeing the pomp and tradition on display. The new king is just 37 years old, very young in a country where monarchs are often crowned in their 50s through 70s. His speech spoke of history, inclusion and ambition. Hmm, that word: ambition. Friends, I have lots of ideas about topics to explore and share with you. But my time is limited. I am looking for someone to join the 5x5 Crypto team so we can go further faster. Requirements:<br/><br/>Curious about crypto<br/><br/>Ready to have fun<br/><br/>Let me know if you are interested!<br/><br/>News<br/><br/>1. Afghanistan: Funds transfer is life or death <br/><br/>Many of us were moved by the heart-wrenching scenes in Afghanistan this week. I can&#8217;t pretend to know how it feels. But I can marginally relate to the Afghans living in the US trying to send money home to help loved ones. <br/><br/>In this climate of fear and desperation, Western Union announced that it was stopping operations in Afghanistan&#8230;the very moment when sending funds could literally be the difference between life and death. This is infuriating. It does not have to be this way. <br/><br/>Yes, I understand that Western Union has a responsibility to care for their workers and business. It just illustrates that the existing model is broken. Fortunately, Bitcoin Lightning Network changes that. It provides a censorship-resistant avenue for people to send funds without rent seeking middlemen. <br/><br/>2. Lightning in Nigeria: 0% fee on US fund transfer<br/><br/>This is BIG! <a href="https://bitnob.com/">Bitnob</a>&#8217;s integration with the Lightning Network is now enabling FREE, instant, non-reversible funds transfer between the US and Nigeria. Read that again. <br/><br/>In 2018, Nigerians in diaspora sent $25B back home. According to the World Bank, the average remittance fee in Africa was 8.4%. This means that middlemen like Western Union earned $2.1B that could have gone