How did the CFA franc come to be the common currency of 14 West and Central African nations? Who controls it and why did it suddenly lose half of its value in 1994? In this episode, we are joined by software engineer and founder of Bitcoin Developers Academy, Fodé Diop, for a discussion on the fascinating monetary history of West Africa. Fodé explains how the CFA franc has allowed France to maintain economic dominance in West Africa, how the 1994 devaluation affected his family, and why he is supporting bitcoin adoption as means of empowering Africans and increasing financial inclusion. Fodé also explains the work his is doing to support the development of Lightning applications and his plans for the Africa Bitcoin Conference: the first ever bitcoin and Lightning conference in West Africa.

References

• Fodé on Twitter.
• Bitcoin Developers Academy website.
• The Fodé Diop Radio Show.
• Fighting Monetary Colonialism with Open-Source Code by Alex Gladstein.
• Data on broad money supply growth in Senegal.
• The Mobile Wave by Michael Saylor.
• Open-source Lightning Dev Kit and Bitcoin Dev Kit.
• Africa Bitcoin Conference website (Accra, Dec 7-9).
• Shortbits blog
• Ben Arc Lightning point of sale page on Github.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

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