Thursday, July 7, 2022
Germany Latest News
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe
No Result
View All Result
Germany Latest News
Home Africa

Appetite for crypto is growing stronger in Nigeria despite threats of an official clampdown

by The Editor
October 13, 2021
in Africa
0
Appetite for crypto is growing stronger in Nigeria despite threats of an official clampdown
0
SHARES
2
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

euronews– Nigerian art dealer Ebuka Joseph started using cryptocurrencies last year when business ground to a halt due to COVID-19. Now he is hooked even though the financial authorities disapprove.

“Crypto just allows me to transact freely and within minutes we are done with our transactions,” the 28-year-old told Reuters from a friend’s studio in Lagos where he displays his works.

Related posts

Nigeria: town mourns more than 50 people shot dead in church during mass

Nigeria: town mourns more than 50 people shot dead in church during mass

June 6, 2022
Mozambique confirms first wild poliovirus case in 30 years

Mozambique confirms first wild poliovirus case in 30 years

May 19, 2022

Nigeria’s Central Bank barred local banks from working with cryptocurrencies in February, warning of “severe regulatory sanctions” and freezing accounts of firms it says are using them.

But Joseph’s appetite for crypto, like many in Nigeria, has only increased.

For people like him, the clampdown has highlighted the benefits of using currencies outside the central bank’s control, and Nigeria remains the largest market for cryptocurrency trading platforms like Paxful.

Nigerians are turning to crypto for business, to protect their savings as the naira – Nigeria’s fiat currency – loses value, and to send payments abroad because it is often hard to obtain US dollars, experts and users told Reuters.

In March, just after the central bank ban, the dollar volume of cryptocurrencies sent from Nigeria rose to $132 million (€114.3 million), up 17 per cent from the previous month, research firm Chainalysis said. Transactions in June were 25 per cent above the same month last year.

Sly Megida, another artist using crypto to sell his works, said his buyers worldwide readily accept the use of digital currencies and they have also protected his finances.

“The naira is digressing and we are trying to keep the value of the art,” he said, calling crypto “the currency where people don’t think that I am paying too much or too less”.

Despite higher crypto use, risks remain

The Paxful peer-to-peer platform that Joseph uses experienced a 57 per cent rise in trading volume in Nigeria in the year to June, while user numbers surged 83 per cent.

Exchange Yellowcard, which has adopted the peer-to-peer model in Nigeria since February, told Reuters that use “has continued to absolutely skyrocket”.

Both Paxful, which has opened an office in Abuja to lobby the government to change its attitude to crypto, and Yellowcard said Nigerians generally turn to crypto for business rather than speculation.

Chainalysis, in a report last month on African crypto, said the central bank ban locked most Nigerians out of traditional crypto exchanges, so many shifted to a peer-to-peer system.

This goes via platforms such as Paxful or Local Bitcoins, which vet both parties.

But other users just exchange crypto for Nigerian naira or other currencies with people they find on WhatsApp or Telegram.

As a result, Chainalysis said Nigeria’s crypto use is likely even higher than its figures suggest. Risks remain, however.

In August, the central bank froze the accounts of some crypto users for allegedly sourcing funds from illegal foreign exchange dealers, leaving many companies that use cryptocurrencies reluctant to talk about it.

Joseph, though, is undeterred.

“You can sell to people outside the country, and they can actually pay in different currencies, which you can always convert,” he said.

Tags: clampdownNigeria
Previous Post

‘A miracle’: German girl found after two days missing in remote woods

Next Post

Expo 2020 Dubai finally opens as the UAE turns 50

Next Post
Expo 2020 Dubai finally opens as the UAE turns 50

Expo 2020 Dubai finally opens as the UAE turns 50

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Debutant’s toughness could prove headache for Springboks: Hooper

Debutant’s toughness could prove headache for Springboks: Hooper

3 years ago
Bolivia set to hold presidential election re-run on May 3

Bolivia set to hold presidential election re-run on May 3

3 years ago
Angola, Mauritania in first goalless AFCON clash

Angola, Mauritania in first goalless AFCON clash

3 years ago
Superbug risks fail to dent attitudes to antibiotics

Superbug risks fail to dent attitudes to antibiotics

4 years ago

FOLLOW US

  • 114 Followers
  • 85.9k Followers
  • 166k Subscribers

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU forces France French German GISAID Istana Negara Italy Lewandowski Lionel Messi Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protect protests Qatar Russia slapstick South Africans TikTok Trump UK Ukraine Visit Bali
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Dominican Republic environment minister shot dead in his office
  • France puts 18 on trial over alleged involvement in vast horsemeat scandal
  • North Korea fires ballistic missiles a day after US-South Korean naval drills
  • Nigeria: town mourns more than 50 people shot dead in church during mass
  • Death toll rises after train crash in Bavaria

Categories

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Tags

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU forces France French German GISAID Istana Negara Italy Lewandowski Lionel Messi Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protect protests Qatar Russia slapstick South Africans TikTok Trump UK Ukraine Visit Bali
Death toll rises after train crash in Bavaria
latest news

Death toll rises after train crash in Bavaria

by The Editor
June 6, 2022
0

Several people were killed and 40 more were injured on Friday when a regional passenger train derailed in the southern German...

Read more

Recent News

  • Dominican Republic environment minister shot dead in his office
  • France puts 18 on trial over alleged involvement in vast horsemeat scandal
  • North Korea fires ballistic missiles a day after US-South Korean naval drills

Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Recent News

Dominican Republic environment minister shot dead in his office

Dominican Republic environment minister shot dead in his office

June 6, 2022
France puts 18 on trial over alleged involvement in vast horsemeat scandal

France puts 18 on trial over alleged involvement in vast horsemeat scandal

June 6, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.