Nigeria has been rated the second country most interested in bitcoin, despite the difficulty of accessing the trillion-dollar crypto in the country. This is according to data from Google trends. An analysis of the data shows that the financial market turmoil caused by COVID-19 has definitely changed the way Nigerians view the entire financial system, with Nigeria among the leading countries in bitcoin searches.
Based on local geographic metrics, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, and Enugu rank as the top five states with the highest interest in Bitcoin in Nigeria. This is coming on the backdrop that CBN has intensified its campaign against cryptocurrency traders and is now targeting entities and individuals that provide P2P platforms or services to customers who trade crypto assets
Since Nigerians are among the most tech-savvy in the world, it’s very easy for them to adopt bitcoin use. In spite of this, youth in Nigeria aren’t the only ones adopting bitcoin.
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The Central Bank of Nigeria earlier this year denied crypto companies access to the banking ecosystem, causing many cryptocurrency businesses to close up shop. Other companies were also forced to scale back their operations using P2P systems due to the same blockade.
Flutterwave, Paystack, and Monnify are among the crypto exchanges that partner with NBFIs and OFIs to transact with bank customers in Nigeria. This allows them to accept debit cards and direct transfers. Those companies cannot continue providing these services based on the instructions in the circular.
The Nigerian apex bank says the anonymity, untraceability, and speculative nature of cryptocurrencies is causing them to be increasingly used for money laundering, terrorism funding, and other criminal activities
Considering a large percentage of Bitcoin transactions are remittances, this was always going to be a concern for the Nigerian Central bank, which views remittance control as a way to achieve its exchange rate objectives.
Bitcoin has outperformed any Nigerian assets since its emergence. A growing number of Nigerians are not giving up owning one of the most disruptive financial asset classes in human history. They are therefore willing to pay a premium to hold on to crypto regardless of the central bank’s ban.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry