The bitcoin (BTC) price in Nigeria has risen significantly beyond world market valuation amid growing demand for the asset among citizens of the West African country.
At the time of writing this article, BTC was Commerce to 17.5 million naira (approx. $38,005) on Nigeria’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, NairaEX. This means Nigerians have to pay a 60% premium on the current global BTC price of $23,200.
Why is Bitcoin 60% Premium in Nigeria?
The development comes as demand for the leading digital asset has continued to rise in Nigeria due to the government’s decision to impose limits on cash withdrawals at banks and ATMs in an effort to achieve a cashless economy.
In December, the central bank of Nigeria imposed a weekly withdrawal limit of 100,000 naira ($217) and 500,000 naira ($1,085) for individuals and corporate organizations, respectively. The bank added that withdrawals above this limit would attract processing fees of 5% for individuals and 10% for corporate organizations.
At the same time, the regulator stated that it had set the maximum cash withdrawal per week via ATM at 100,000 naira ($217), subject to a maximum cash withdrawal of 20,000 naira ($43) per day. The policies became effective on January 9, 2023.
The withdrawal limit announcement was made days before Nigeria redesigned its currency to combat counterfeiting, discourage illicit financial transactions, and promote a cashless economy by limiting the number of new banknotes that can be withdrawn and reducing the number of dirty banknotes. that circulate in the economy.
It’s not the first time
Meanwhile, this is not the first time bitcoin has been trading at a premium in Nigeria. In early 2021, when the central bank banned financial institutions from servicing cryptocurrency exchanges, BTC was trading at a 36% premium.
Following the Nigerian government’s move to achieve a cashless economy, thereby limiting the availability of cash, there has been a growing interest in BTC among Nigerians in recent months.
According to data According to the Google Trends analysis platform, investors in Nigeria are becoming more interested in buying bitcoins than investors in the United States.
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