Overdue has been a general change toward a more favorable acceptance of Bitcoin among Nigeria’s younger generations. According to Ijeoma Ndukwe, more cryptocurrency trades occur in Nigeria than in any other part of the world, indicating a loss of faith in traditional forms of investment.
According to the bulk of the respondents featured in the aforementioned article, young people in Nigeria are turning to cryptocurrencies to avoid the country’s deteriorating economic situation.
Because of the increased interest in digital currencies among younger Nigerians, cryptocurrency has emerged as a viable investment instrument. Furthermore, there are a number of young Nigerians that pass the time by gambling and visiting online casinos. As a result, when people want to play with cryptocurrency, they look for the best bitcoin casinos that also provide bonuses.
The Influence of Cryptocurrencies on Nigeria
There is no question in anyone’s mind that the advent of cryptocurrencies has had a significant influence not only on the country as a whole but also on the younger population in particular. Because of bitcoin, the country has experienced phenomenal economic growth in recent years. For instance, in 2020, a Nigerian crypto-trading company known as Bifxt received $15 million in Series A funding. This resulted in the creation of additional jobs and investments, both of which contributed to the recovery of the economy.
Additionally, the widespread use of cryptocurrencies has made it easier for individuals to conduct business transactions and make payments. Sending money from Nigeria is notoriously difficult; however, the introduction of cryptocurrencies has made the process easier by removing the obstacles presented by long bank lines and the requirement to wait for several hours at a time. Additionally, the transaction fee that is incurred when moving money from one wallet to another is not inconsequential.
In addition, the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin was one of the driving forces behind the worldwide protest under the hashtag #EndSARS. This was one of the things that drove the movement forward. Financial assistance was provided to protest groups in order to meet the demonstrators’ dietary, legal, and medical requirements.
As a direct consequence of this, it was not difficult to get people to participate, which led to a delightfully peaceful demonstration for the first few days it was held. In addition to this, the widespread use of bitcoin has made it possible for a sizeable number of young people in Nigeria to lift themselves out of poverty. As a result of their investments in a variety of cryptographic currencies, a number of individuals have recently achieved the status of crypto millionaires.
On the other hand, increasing concern is being voiced regarding the rising value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and others. Many authorities in the field view it as a high-stakes gamble that has the potential to bring investors to their knees at some point in the foreseeable future. They also believe that it is riddled with technical flaws and that, given that it is based on anonymity, it may contribute to the growth of fraud in the country, which is already a problem there.
As a result of these worries, the government of the country decided to completely ban cryptocurrencies. The prohibition was enacted, as stated in the statement that was released on February 7th, 2021, to protect the general public as well as to protect the country from the presence of unnamed and unregulated organizations that might engage in illegal activities.
Because of the ban, the central bank has exercised its authority over the bank accounts of numerous investors, and it has either placed a hold on those accounts or frozen them completely. At this time, it is against the law to engage in any activity involving cryptocurrencies or cryptography. There is a possibility that in the not too distant future, the government will come to realize the potential of cryptocurrencies and how they can be of benefit to the country. This will be made possible by the company’s employees coming up with innovative and original ideas.
Tendencies and Prospects for the Future
There has been a significant increase in the number of people using cryptocurrencies for day-to-day business transactions as well as investments, despite the fact that the use of cryptocurrencies is against the law in this country. People can still engage in peer-to-peer transactions and trade cryptocurrencies with one another even though the limitation has been circumvented by a large number of users who have developed a workaround for the limitation.
This is because no law officially prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies. According to research that was conducted by Reuters and published in March, after the ban was put into effect, the volume of bitcoin transactions that were transferred out of Nigeria increased to approximately $132 million. This represents a 17 percent increase from the previous month. Additionally, compared to the previous month, the number of transactions that were finalized in June represented a 25% increase. As a direct consequence of this, the Bitcoin market in Nigeria has expanded to the point where it is now only behind the Bitcoin market in the United States.
Over the course of the past five years, Nigeria has transacted in more than 60,000 bitcoins, which have a combined value of over 500 million dollars. It is anticipated that the volume of transactions carried out on the bitcoin market in Nigeria experienced an increase of at least 19% in 2017.
The volume of transactions on the market will be greater than 20,000 in the year 2020. The market is expanding at an ever-increasing rate for a number of different reasons, one of which is that it gives Nigerians the opportunity to safeguard the value of their currency by investing in funds denominated in other currencies. Because of this, the activity is transformed from simple speculation into a legitimate business.
In spite of the regulations, the federal government of Nigeria has developed the first digital currency for the country. This development suggests that the market for cryptocurrencies has a bright future ahead of it in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the market for cryptocurrencies is undergoing rapid expansion at the moment.