Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Trading in Nigeria

On this site you find the best cryptocurrency trading sites in Nigeria.

Can Bitcoin Brokers be used in Nigeria – Is Cryptocurrency Trading legal?

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are so far neither legal nor illegal in Nigeria. Rather, there is still no clear legal situation or regulation. That's why there is no reason not to trade on one of the multiple international bitcoin margin trading brokers in Nigeria.

Although the Central Bank of Nigeria sent a recommendation to all national banks in 2017 that they should distance themselves from cryptocurrencies and not support their use and related transactions, there is still a sharp increase in Bitcoin use by the population.

In fact, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading is more in demand in Nigeria than in any other African country, although large parts of Africa are also experiencing tremendous growth in Bitcoin use and acceptance.

Why is Bitcoin so popular in Nigeria?

Due to the growing importance of peer-to-peer payments - digital money transfer - via smartphone, cryptocurrency is spreading rapidly in Nigeria. Around 32 percent of Nigerians surveyed in the Statista Global Consumer Survey stated that they use or own crypto money. This puts the West African country in first place out of 65 countries included in the survey.

The online currency is preferred primarily because of the fast and reliable way to transfer money, which is not always available, especially in African and Southeast Asian countries. In addition, many users in Nigeria estimate that there are no transaction costs for foreign transfers, as is the case with most physical banks.

Also, more and more places are trading with Bitcoin. Even in places where one would not expect it at first glance. According to the website UsefulTulips, the trading volume on peer-to-peer platforms in sub-Saharan Africa has increased significantly.

Especially in Nigeria, a lot of trading is done with Bitcoin. Last week, a record volume of 10 million dollars was traded in Bitcoin there.

Great Interest in Bitcoin

The data from Google Trends show that there is indeed an above-average interest in Bitcoin. Residents from other African countries, such as South Africa and Ghana, are also interested in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin offers Protection against Inflation

One of the reasons in Nigeria is that Nigerians want to preserve the value of their money with Bitcoin. According to Trading Economics, the inflation of the Nigerian Naira, the national currency, is rising. In June 2020, inflation was as high as 12.5 percent. This was the tenth consecutive month in which this trend continues. This means that things as well as food, transport and rent are becoming more and more expensive for Nigerians in relative terms.

Although the Bitcoin exchange rate is sometimes subject to wild fluctuations, the crypto currency still seems to hold its value better than the Nigerian currency. This can also be seen on the following Bitcoin chart, where the price is expressed in Naira. The graph shows the price of Binance, where Nigerians have been able to buy and sell Bitcoin recently.

Bitcoin as Salary

In addition, a part of the Nigerian population receives their salary in Bitcoin. Bitcoin exchanges where people in Nigeria can exchange their Bitcoin salary against Naira are BitPesa, Paxful or Luno, for instance.

In recent years, the number of freelancers offering their services to Western clients has increased in African countries, including Nigeria and Ghana. Since these Africans want to be part of the economy, they are determined to look for alternative payment methods.

Nevertheless it is important to keep in mind that only a minority work with such online providers and the majority live from "offline jobs".