Nigeria Expects a 60% Increase in Bitcoin’s Price as ATM Withdrawals

In Nigeria, the price of one Bitcoin (BTC) can reach $38,000.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) in Nigeria has skyrocketed to well above market levels, reaching a staggering $23,686. This surge is attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria's continued efforts to encourage its citizens to embrace digitalized cash. 1 Bitcoin(BTC) is now worth 17.8 million Naira ($38,792) on the Nigerian cryptocurrency market NairaEX at the time of writing.

The current price of Bitcoin is approximately $23,700, representing an impressive premium of over 60%. This is an incredible opportunity for investors to capitalize on the cryptocurrency market. It occurs while the Central Bank of Nigeria keeps limiting ATM cash withdrawals as part of ongoing efforts to accelerate the country's transition to a cashless society.

The central bank limited cash withdrawals earlier this month as a result of an announcement made in December. Citizens could only withdraw 20,000 NGN (about $43.50) per day, or a total of 100,000 NGN (about $217), from cash machines as of January 9. The action was taken just a few days before new Naira banknotes were introduced with the intention of reducing inflation and money laundering. For Nigerians to exchange their previous, higher denomination bank notes for new money, the central bank set a deadline of January 24.

However, despite protests that there wasn't enough time to make the deadline, individuals endured long lines. Currently, that deadline has been extended by the central bank to February 10 according to sources on January 29. The price of Bitcoin has risen in Nigeria on numerous occasions. The central bank banned regulated financial institutions from offering services to cryptocurrency exchanges in the nation in February 2021. As a consequence, the BTC premium reached a peak of 36% at the moment.

According to Google Trends, due to the increasing interest in Bitcoin, Nigeria has overtaken other nations as the most popular location for Bitcoin web searches. The Central Bank of Nigeria also introduced a domestic card program on January 26 to compete with foreign cards like MasterCard and Visa, according to an article by Reuters. The "AfriGo" card program was created to improve Nigerians' access to bank card services and avoid expensive international transaction fees and exchange rates.