Nigerians Interest in Bitcoin Soars Amid Recent Ban on Cryptocurrency, BTC Selling at a hefty 36 Percent Premium

By: Mark Jessy

February 18, 2021 5:54 AM

In just under 12 days since Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) placed a ban on banks from servicing crypto exchanges and was asked to close the accounts associated with crypto transactions.

The circulars, although heavily criticised by the public have not been able to deter Nigerians from Bitcoin. Nigeria in recent times has proven to be the country with most Bitcoin searches in Africa with data from google trends to back its claims as interest in the flagship cryptocurrency hits the roof.

At press time, the bitcoin price sells at a hefty premium of 36% which translates into $71,150 per token. If compared to the current average spot trading price of $51,314 makes it the largest premium globally. at present: 3.24% in South Africa and between 1-3% in Peru, Argentina, Vietnam, and Malaysia are closest, it's largely incomparable with that of Nigeria.

As previously reported by Coinnewsafrica, the CBN ban on banks and other regulated financial institutions from servicing crypto exchanges or crypto-related transactions has seen the rise of P2P trades in the nation. On a global scale, Nigeria is ranked Top in terms of search interest in Bitcoin.

In wake of the CBN ban, the Nigeria Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its proposed plans for crypto regulations in the country in support of the CBN Directives. The regulator's claims: we have "to analyze and understand the risk adequatly."