Technology
Can the Blockchain Really Bypass Government Policies?
One of the importance of the blockchain is Decentralization, but how do blockchain stakeholders boycott real-life politics in the actualization of their goals?
For instance, the United States’ sanction on countries like Iran is causing many US-based companies to re-evaluate their release of goods and services to the Iranian market. These companies are forced to weigh their options carefully before picking a side, and so far, the many occurrences in this field have been detrimental to the financial inclusion of Iran into the cryptocurrency space.
The four recent ones are
- Gitcoin, a crypto crowdfunding platform, put paid to a rally to help Farsi-students learn Ethereum coding, fearing US sanctions.
- BitGo, a crypto wallet startup getting penalized in 2020 for interacting with users in US-sanctioned countries. Actually, BitGo had a little fault in this issue, as the problem arose from its clients receiving payment from sanctioned countries. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) explained that the US sanctions prohibit that.
- Binance, a global crypto exchange, has also been known to deactivate accounts from the Middle East region; especially Iran and Cuba.
- ConsenSys Academy, a blockchain startup focusing on Ethereum-centric knowledge, also came under the limelight in 2021 for banning about 50 Iranian students from its smart-contract learning platform. While it was against the company’s policy, they had to issue the exit claiming a review was done on their platform and individuals who are located in countries prohibited by the US law were removed.
Following ConsenSys ban of Iranian students, GItcoin remained more or less one of the only hopes for Iranians to get into the crypto space with a certificate, and when the campaign started to help Farsi-speaking students in March, it seemed like a dream come true.
On Gitcoin, the news came as a shock to all when its COO announced in December that it was marking all donations as inactive. The fundraiser was shifted to a European platform which is based in Barcelona, Spain. Giveth, the new platform for the fundraiser event has seen donations of up to $8,000 for volunteers that have roots in Iran.
Despite this, everyone still seems shocked that real-life politics still has a say in matters of decentralization and borderless policies. One of the shocked individuals was Sahar Rahbari, a course creator for Farsi-speaking people. In an interview with Coindesk, he expressed his displeasure at the policy and lamented why Iranians are always at the receiving end.
Another course contributor, this time from ConsenSys, explained that though the US companies’ fear is unwarranted, it is understandable. The rules concerning foreign sanctions remain unclear, and to avoid legal troubles, many US companies are outrightly keeping Persians as far away as possible.
While it would have been better to have more explicit details of how Gitcoin got to know about the grant and its probable breach of US laws, all we have been able to gather from the US quarters is that this is not in any way a discriminatory effort, as the representative spoken to explained that there are other Farsi-speaking communities on Gitcoin’s program, and none other have been flagged down.
The process of the Gitcoin grant is simple. Any grant called is first raised by its community into a specified Ethereum wallet with all transactions recorded on the Eth block explorer. The Gitcoin algorithm matches every Ethereum spent with the DAI stablecoin
The grant proposal for the Farsi-speaking people became inactive less than 12 hours after it was first drafted due to some suspicion from the Gitcoin team that the grant might have trespassed US laws. As a precautionary measure, the difficult decision had to be taken.
When asked about this report, the Gitcoin team explained that they received a call on December 7th about a new grant listed on their platform. The journalist, who called, preferring to remain anonymous, explained the US sanctions to Iran to the team and told them they might have just crossed a red line.
Because the terms of the sanctions were not clearly stated, the team was put in limbo. After contacting legal counsel, the team unanimously chose to shut down the campaign before it disrupts the entire network.
The Gitcoin team emphasized the need to make the funding process more decentralized and assured everyone they would make that happen, but pending the time that materializes, they have to err on the side of caution and follow US laws since they are a US-based company.
A previous occurrence
While many might want to berate Gitcoin for their choice, it is better to zoom out and look at the whole picture. Several months ago, the United States government jailed a citizen because he went to give a speech about blockchain technology and Web 3.0 in North Korea.
The man, Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith is the recipient of one of the scariest crime cases in the blockchain era.
His case shook the Ethereum community as no one expected the US government to be that strict. Even people that travelled with him without giving any speech now fear for their lives and safety. Gitcoin’s co-founder cited this case and asked everyone involved in Web 3.0 to move carefully, and lose some battles in order to win the war. According to him, it would not be really responsible to put their donors under the risk of OFAC.
While this news does not come good for the cryptocurrency market, the market is still optimistic about ETH2’s merger with the Ethereum mainnet. Stakers can earn passively through https://redot.com/eth2/
Technology
AI Legal Tech Firm Ivo Gets $55m for Contract Intelligence
By Dipo Olowookere
The sum of $55 million has been injected into an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered contract intelligence platform, Ivo, to support product development and scaling as the company deepens its reach across the hundreds of organizations that already rely on its product, including Uber, Shopify, Atlassian, Reddit, and Canva.
The Series B funding round comes after a year of substantial growth in product performance, customer adoption, and market traction to accelerate its mission of making contract intelligence available to every business.
Since its last funding round, Ivo has grown annual recurring revenue by 500 per cent, increased total customers by 134 per cent, and expanded adoption within the Fortune 500 by 250 per cent.
Business Post gathered that the latest funding support came from Blackbird, Costanoa Ventures, Uncork Capital, Fika Ventures, GD1 and Icehouse Ventures.
Ivo is purpose-built for in-house teams that need both reviews with surgical accuracy as well as visibility into their complete contract library.
The company’s AI-powered contract review solution, Ivo Review, allows users to complete reviews in a fraction of the time; customers report saving up to 75 per cent of the time that manual review would demand.
The product standardizes a company’s positions and precedents using playbooks built and implemented by lawyers. This means that every contract is reviewed accurately, consistently, and efficiently, critical for large and globally distributed teams.
“Our goal has always been to make interacting with contracts fast, accurate, and enjoyable. Every key relationship in a business is defined by an agreement, yet most organizations struggle to extract the insights inside them.
“Our focus is to give in-house teams a trustworthy solution that helps them work faster and gives them visibility into their contracts that was previously impossible,” the chief executive and co-founder of Ivo, Min-Kyu Jung, stated.
Also commenting, a Principal at Blackbird, Mr James Palmer, said, “In-house legal teams demand products that are deeply accurate and aligned to how they work. The most sophisticated teams are incredibly selective about the tools they trust.
“Ivo’s traction with some of the world’s best companies shows it consistently exceeds that bar. With exceptional product execution and an uncompromising quality bar, we believe Ivo is defining and leading the category.”
The Senior Manager for Contract Operations at Uber, Ms Kate Gardner, said, “Uber selected Ivo because it was intuitive to use, demonstrated a high level of accuracy, could work in multiple languages, and met its confidentiality requirements. Furthermore, the Ivo team was highly responsive to Uber’s needs.”
Technology
Nigeria Leads in AI for Learning, Entrepreneurship—Google
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new report released by global tech giant, Google, in collaboration with Ipsos, has revealed that Nigeria is writing the playbook on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it leads in AI for learning and entrepreneurship.
In the study titled Our Life with AI: Helpfulness in the hands of more people, it was shown that Nigerians are using AI tools for everything from education to entrepreneurship at a remarkable rate, showing immense optimism for the technology’s future.
It was disclosed that about 88 per cent of Nigerian adults have used an AI chatbot, a huge 18-point jump from 2024, placing the West African country well ahead of the global average of 62 per cent.
It was also found out that while the top use for AI globally has shifted to learning, Nigerians are taking it a step further, using AI as a powerful tool for personal and professional development.
A staggering 93 per cent of Nigerians use AI to learn or understand complex topics, compared to 74 per cent globally, with 91 per cent using the tool to assist them with their work.
In addition, the research observed that 80 per cent of Nigerians are using AI to explore a new business or career change—nearly double the global average of 42 per cent.
Nigerians have overwhelmingly positive feelings about AI’s role in the classroom and beyond, seeing it as a game-changer for education, with 91 per cent feeling AI is having a positive impact on how we learn and access information versus 65 per cent globally.
The report showed that 95 per cent believe university students and educators are likely to benefit from AI, as 80 per cent of Nigerians are more excited about the possibilities of AI, versus just 20 per cent who are more concerned. Globally, the split is much closer at 53 per cent excited and 46 per cent concerned).
Commenting on the findings, the Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Google in West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said, “It’s inspiring to see how Nigerians are creatively and purposefully using AI to unlock new opportunities for learning, growth, and economic empowerment.
“This report doesn’t just show high adoption rates; it tells the story of a nation that is actively shaping its future with technology, using AI as a tool to accelerate progress and achieve its ambitions. We’re committed to ensuring that AI remains a helpful and accessible tool for everyone.”
Business Post gathered that the research was conducted by Ipsos between September 22 and October 10, 2025, on behalf of Google.
For this survey, a sample of roughly 1,000 adults aged 18+ who are residents of Nigeria and were interviewed online, representing the country’s online population.
Technology
NCC Grants Three Satellite Licences to Boost Broadband Services
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has licensed three additional global internet service providers, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, BeetleSat-1, and and Germany-based Satelio IoT Services, as part of efforts to strengthen internet connectivity via satellite and to boost competition among existing internet service providers in the country.
Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, is Amazon’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, designed to provide fast, reliable internet to customers and communities beyond the reach of existing networks, while BeetleSat (formerly NSLComm) is an international company with strong ties to both Israel and Spain, and its corporate structure involves multiple countries, building a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of 250 satellites to provide high-throughput, low-latency, satellite internet, cellular backhaul, and mobility services globally, and Satelio IoT was approved for its planned 491-satellite IoT system, though only one satellite is currently in orbit.
NCC granted the global internet operators seven-year licences to each to operate in Nigeria from February 28, 2026, to February 28, 2033.
These operators were granted Ka-Band for their frequency band operations, and the licence is renewable after the seven years expiration, according to the regulator.
The NCC’s landing permit authorises Project Kuiper to operate its space segment in Nigeria as part of a global constellation of up to 3,236 satellites.
According to the NCC, the approval aligns with global best practices and reflects Nigeria’s willingness to open its satellite communications market to next-generation broadband providers.
The permit positions Project Kuiper to provide satellite internet services over Nigerian territory and sets the stage for intensified competition with Starlink, currently the most visible Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet provider in the country.
The permit also gives Amazon LEO and BeetleSat-1, the legal certainty to invest in ground infrastructure, local partnerships, and enterprise contracts, while giving Nigeria a wider market opportunity to play in space internet service delivery, where Starlink currently operates.
Amazon’s Kuiper will offer three categories of satellite services in Nigeria: Fixed Satellite Service (FSS), Mobile Satellite Service (MSS), and Earth Stations at Sea (ESAS).
FSS enables broadband connectivity between satellites and fixed ground stations, such as homes, enterprises, telecom base stations, and government facilities. This is the core service behind satellite home internet and enterprise backhaul; MSS, by contrast, is designed for mobility and resilience; and ESIM extends high-speed satellite broadband to moving platforms, including aircraft, ships, trains, and vehicles.
These systems rely on sophisticated antennas that can track satellites in real time while in motion, making them critical for aviation and maritime connectivity as well as logistics and transport sectors.
BeetleSat was founded in Israel, where its groundbreaking antenna technology was developed and supported by the Israel Space Agency.
In 2021, it formed a strategic alliance with the Spanish technology group Arquimea, which is now BeetleSat’s largest shareholder and main industrial partner.
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