Nigeria’s cryptocurrency usage remains highest in Africa
Despite Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directives restricting licensed banks from engaging in cryptocurrency-related activities, Nigeria’s crypto market has defied the odds and consolidated its status as a key transactional vehicle in the sub-Saharan nation.
Currently, Nigeria has a population of 223 million, making it one of the fastest-growing countries in Africa and one of the youngest in the world, according to a United Nations and Interest study. 43 per cent of the country is under 15 years old.
Nigeria’s cryptocurrency usage remains the highest in Africa and one of the most developed countries in the entire world, with an annual growth rate of 9 per cent despite the recent pullback on Bitcoin’s interest Chainalysis report, showed that Nigeria ranks third in the list of only six countries that have recorded consistent growth since 2021.
Stablecoins are now the preferred crypto asset in Nigeria because they are pegged to a popular reference asset, the American dollar to hedge against inflation and the naira devaluation Currently, USDT is the most widely traded stablecoin in Nigeria.
Nigerian businesses and the diaspora population are also adopting USDT and other stablecoins to facilitate payments. It is no longer uncommon to see tour operators in Nigeria quote their packages in US dollars and offer USDT as a payment option.
The naira is the worst-performing currency in Africa and has lost four-fifths of its value this year alone against the American dollar
Bitcoin has notched a strong ending this year despite recent pullbacks in price action. If today were the last day of 2023, the king of digital assets would have returned almost 150 per cent, marking the best year since 2020, when it rose a phenomenal 305 per cent.
Bitcoin opened the trading week marginally lower, but trading above $41,000. Ether maintained its critical support level despite the wave of selloffs, staying above $2,100 at the time of drafting this report.
Data from Coinglass revealed that there has been $176 million in the liquidation crypto futures market in the past day, and $136 million of them have been long positions.
In total, $32 million in Bitcoin positions were liquidated, resulting in 91,645 crypto traders losing all their funds. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Bitmex for XBTUSD, with a value of $10 million.
Despite bitcoin’s current correction phase, end-of-year predictions for 2024-2025 remain optimistic, especially when compared to last year’s dour predictions of $10-12k bitcoin.
The market price has already been priced in spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States approval, thus liquidity inflows will make a huge difference in the value of the pioneer crypto asset.
