2021 still feels like yesterday, that's when the Nigerian government banned crypto through local banks. It was so confusing. I didn’t really know much about crypto back then honestly, I was just trying to figure it out like everyone else. But when the government placed that ban in 2021, something about it just felt off. It was like, “Wait, this thing that people are starting to see hope in you just kill am like that?” We hadn’t even really started, and boom, it was gone. Even though I couldn’t explain everything, deep down I knew it had potential. It felt like a small door to something bigger had just been slammed in our faces.
Everything went cold. Exchanges stopped working with banks. Wallets were frozen. People panicked. I stepped back. Crypto, I thought, wasn’t for people like me. It was too risky. Too complicated. Maybe even a scam, like they said on the news. I let it go.
But Web3 wasn’t done with me. By late 2023, it felt like everyone around me had turned Telegram into a tapping contest, like their next paycheck depended on it. Tapbots were everywhere. Notcoin, Hamster Kombat, Yescoin those names became part of daily gist. At first, I laughed it off. “So na tap we go use make money now?” I joked. But curiosity got the better of me, and one day I downloaded the Notcoin bot.
That was the beginning. Tapping coins didn’t look like much, but there was something addictive about it. For once, I didn’t need to invest any money or understand any technical chart. All I had to do was show up, tap, and stay consistent. I wasn’t even expecting to earn much. It was fun community-driven, hype-fueled fun. But when the Notcoin airdrop finally came through and I got around $32, it felt like magic.
That was my first real reward from the Web3 space. It wasn’t much, but it proved something to me: this thing was real. Before that, I had tried Pi Network back in 2020. I was early, consistent, and hopeful. But then I changed my phone and lost the number tied to my Pi account. I couldn’t recover it. Just like that, all my effort vanished. It hurt. I told myself I was done chasing “internet coins.” But you see, Web3 is like water it finds a way back in.
After the Notcoin airdrop, I started paying attention. That was when I stumbled on Hive. To be honest, I joined out of curiosity. I didn’t even know people could earn from writing. I just thought it was one of those techy communities where only developers and crypto bros thrived.
Imagine my surprise when I published a short post and someone commented, “Nice start. Keep going, you can earn well here.” I blinked. Earn from writing? From doing what I already love? Nobody told me Web3 had a space for storytellers too.
Now, I might not be a DeFi expert. I’ve never traded with leverage or mined a block. But I know a few things: I know what it feels like to be locked out of the system. I know what it’s like to doubt the future and still show up. I know the excitement of seeing your wallet blink with tokens you earned by simply tapping your screen. And most importantly, I’ve learned that Web3 isn’t just for techies it’s for anyone bold enough to explore.
So no, I don’t know it all. But I’ve found my entry point. From Pi to Notcoin to Hive this is just my beginning.
Note:
[Original and AI free]
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