Bitcoin premium hits 60% in Nigeria because it limits ATM money withdrawals

by Jeremy

The worth of Bitcoin (BTC) in Nigeria has skyrocketed to nicely above market ranges amid continued efforts by the central financial institution to push its residents into digitalized money.

On the time of writing, the value of 1 BTC on Nigerian crypto trade NairaEX is presently 17.8 million Naira, equating to a whopping $38,792.

This represents greater than a 60% premium over the present market worth of Bitcoin, which is round $23,700 on the time of writing.

It comes because the Central Financial institution of Nigeria has continued to impose limits on ATM money withdrawals amid an ongoing effort to speed up its shift to a cashless society.

Earlier this month, the central financial institution imposed a restrict on money withdrawals following a December announcement.

As of Jan. 9, residents have been solely allowed to withdraw a most of 20,000 NGN (round $43.50) from money machines (ATMs) per day with a restrict of 100,000 NGN (roughly $217).

The transfer additionally got here simply days earlier than new Naira banknotes went into circulation with the intention of curbing inflation and cash laundering. The central financial institution imposed a deadline of Jan. 24 for Nigerians to trade their outdated larger denomination financial institution notes for the brand new foreign money.

Nevertheless, folks suffered lengthy queues amid complaints that there was inadequate time to fulfill the deadline. The central financial institution has now prolonged that deadline to Feb. 10 based on studies on Jan. 29.

It isn’t the primary time the Bitcoin premium has surged in Nigeria. In February 2021, the central financial institution banned regulated monetary establishments from offering providers to cryptocurrency exchanges within the nation. This drove the BTC premium as excessive as 36% on the time.

Associated: Nigeria set to cross invoice recognizing Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

The latest curiosity in Bitcoin has additionally seen Nigeria changing into the main nation for Bitcoin internet searches, based on Google Developments.

Moreover, on Jan. 26 Reuters reported that the Central Financial institution of Nigeria launched a home card scheme to rival international playing cards like MasterCard and Visa.

The “AfriGo” card scheme was designed to offer Nigerians higher entry to financial institution card providers and circumvent typically costly international card charges and trade prices.