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The penetration of mobile phones in most African countries, particularly Nigeria, increased remittance rates and payments for goods and services. According to the World Bank, the Nigerian economy is one of the six biggest recipients of remittances in the world, attracting $24 billion in 2019, which made up 5% of the country’s GDP. The turmoil in the financial market as of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Nigerians view the whole financial system, as data also obtained from Google trend, shows Nigeria is one of the countries leading around the world in Bitcoin searches.

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Nigeria is undergoing a new era, i.e that of a cryptocurrency revolution. Nigerians are looking for ways to get their hand on cryptocurrencies whether it’s for personal or business-related reasons. The major driving factor behind the decision for crypto adoption is Nigeria’s failing national fiat currency (Naira) which unfortunately is losing its value day by day. It is not surprising that a large number of young Nigerians and small business owners now ignore Nigerian banks, because of their rigid capital controls on outflows, high transaction costs, and inflexible exchange rate system which is not so in the crypto market. However, in the crypto-verse, there is no central bank to regulate and control cryptocurrency which is why an entity can move over $250,000, with a transaction charge of less than $5, which can be received in minutes anywhere in the world.

Although cryptocurrencies appeared to be exactly what Nigerians are looking for, on 5th February 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria banned and refused to process transactions involving crypto exchanges. Since the central bank (local regulator) is not in favour of Nigerians buying cryptocurrencies, it is now a very big challenge. The good news is that with the right knowledge, Nigerians can still purchase, trade, and make payments with cryptocurrencies easily without the risk of their bank account being blocked or closed.

Before you purchase any digital currency, make sure you have a crypto wallet where you’ll be storing your newly-acquired digital coins. A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program, or service which stores the public and/or private keys for crypto transactions. It also offers the functionality of signing or encrypting information. A wallet can be online or hardware and it is important to know the difference. The consensus is that the online is more user-friendly while hardware tends to be more secure. It is important to go for one that you are comfortable with. Indigenous wallets available for cryptocurrency transactions in Nigeria include Quidax, Patricia, and Bundle Africa.

Nigerians are buying and selling bitcoin even with stringent regulations by either using a cryptocurrency exchange or a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platform. A peer-to-peer platform is simply a wallet that allows P2P exchanges; not a special kind of wallet. P2P allows people to transact directly with sellers while the wallet acts as escrow for the security of funds. For example, if you want to sell your Bitcoin for Nigeran Naira, this is how it works:

  • You will transfer your assets to a P2P-enabled wallet/exchange. Examples include Binance, Remitano, Blockvila, Redeeem, etc.
  • Check adverts placed by those willing to buy and select who you want to sell to.
  • Your coin will then be held in Escrow until you confirm receipt of payment to your bank account from the Buyer.
  • Then you can release the coins to your beneficiary’s address.
  • Cash-out in NGN

Crypto Exchanges

Crypto exchanges are platforms that allow people to buy and sell crypto. They include:

Quidax

Quidax is a Nigerian indigenous exchange serving a large number of local bitcoin buyers and sellers. It was co-founded by Buchi Okoro and Morris Ebieroma. Quidax comes with an extremely easy-to-use interface. And even if you don’t know how to trade, Quidax comes with the Instant Buy/Sell feature that allows you to buy bitcoins and order cryptocurrencies instantly. The platform’s charges are based on maker or taker fees, i.e. if you exchanged Naira for bitcoin, you would be charged a maker or taker fee in bitcoin. But, if you exchange bitcoin for Naira, the transaction fees will be in Naira. It has a zero percent trading fee and a BTC Withdrawal Fee of 0.3 – 1%. Money can be Deposited via Bank deposit, Card deposit, Bank Transfer and USSD.

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Bundle Africa

Bundle Africa is a social payment app founded by Yele Badamosi, that allows Nigerians to buy and sell cryptos like bitcoin, BUSD, BNB, etc., or even save in dollars. Their mobile-first solution comes with an intuitive interface that allows users to add cash using third-party solutions like Cashlink or BUSD with Onramper. Bundle Africa, connects you directly with Bitrefill, so you can easily purchase gift cards to make payments for items like recharge cards, movie tickets, or even book a ride and pay in cryptos. Their Website is Bundle. Africa and the mobile app are available on the google play store and iOS app store. Money can be deposited through Cashlink, Crypto, P2P and their Minimum Transaction Value is 505 Naira.

Patricia

Patricia is one of the most popular wallets in Nigeria to buy and sell bitcoin. it was founded by Hanu Fejiro Agbodje in 2017. Their team has worked harder than any brand to push crypto trading to the average Nigerian who may not have heard of cryptocurrency before. With an easy-to-use web and mobile interface, you can buy BTC or sell based on Patricia’s rates. Their Website is myPatricia.com and the mobile app is available on Google Play Store and iOS app store. Their Trading Fee is Dynamic with 100 naira BTC Withdrawal Fee. Deposit options include Bank transfer, Gift Cards, Airtime to cash while their Minimum Transaction Value is N1,000.

Other options for buying and selling cryptocurrency in Nigeria.

OTC Exchanges

These are simply Broker exchanges. These platforms exchange crypto for fiat currency and vice versa. This is how it works:

  • Look for a trusted exchange or trader within your network
  • Send them your coins
  • You will then receive the payment for the coins in your bank account (They will send this without using cryptocurrency as the transaction description). This way, you are still in business… Selling and receiving your coins.

Use of e-Currencies

Before the advent of cryptocurrencies, there were digital or electronic currencies. They are simply currencies that exist online. Examples are Perfect Money, Enaira, Neteller, WebMoney, etc. Although cryptocurrencies exist online too, they are very much digital assets but differ from e-currencies. The difference between cryptocurrencies and digital currencies is that they are decentralized and encrypted while the traditional digital currencies that centralized and mostly domiciled in USD and EUR or rather they are digital versions of a country’s fiat currency. To use this method, visit e-currencies exchanges and acquire them. Then you can use them to buy your cryptos or receive payments. You can hold your funds in e-currencies or sell them off for Nigerian Naira. A good exchange platform to buy and sell cryptos for e-currencies is Paybis.

Sources:

Nigeria Bitcoin Community.com

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Featured Image Source: Bitcoin News
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This article was first published on 10th March 2022

eyimegwu-ekene

I am an accomplished content creator and recently delved into technical writing. I enjoy using my skills to contribute to the exciting technological advances and create awareness of evolving technological trends in Nigeria.

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