The price of one Bitcoin in Nigeria rose to as high as US$1,250 

West African country looks poised to take advantage of US$21 billion market.

The price of one Bitcoin in Nigeria rose to as high as US$1,250 on Monday November 21 according to Bitx, one of Africa’s biggest exchanges for the digital currency.

This is at odds with the global price of Bitcoin which stands at a value of about US$740 at the time – except for India where the price has accrued a 10% to 20% increase (about US$890) due to the country’s ongoing demonetisation process.

Some of the factors that could have lead to the unusual spike in the price of Bitcoin in Nigeria could be linked to the strength the Nigerian naira gained recently against the US dollar after several forex hoarders were brought down and signs that there is a growing interest in the world’s top digital currency among Nigerians.

Bitx had last month reported that trading volumes have increased in its Nigerian operation.

When tied to last week’s report by digitXplus that says Nigeria has the highest number of internet users in Africa – 63 million unique users though the Nigerian Communications Commission puts it at 97 million – and ninth in the world, it seems to be a Bitcoin revolution going the way of Nigeria gradually.

There is usually a connection between Internet and Bitcoin use. The currency is seen as the Internet money and is believed to be of common use among tech-savvy millennials.

The Nigerian Bitcoin market could become bigger if its use is juxtaposed with the West African country’s high remittance level.

Globally, there has been an increased maturity and usage of Bitcoin which has boosted its attention as a means of payment and as an alternative asset class. Its borderless, open, cheap and fast attributes make it a viable option especially for remittance purposes.

With Nigeria’s almost 200-million population, its rising number of Internet users and its high remittance level – ranked fifth major remittance recipient in 2015 after India, China, the Philippines and Mexico according to the World Bank, Bitcoin seems poised to tap into Nigeria’s US$21 billion market.

Source: ITWEB Africa – Bitx reports Bitcoin price of US$1,251.18 in Nigeria

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