Bitcoin has been in use since 2009 when an unknown person or people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto launched the very first Bitcoins.

Since 2009 when Bitcoin was launched, many other similar digital currencies were introduced.

As of today, there are over 15,000 digital currencies available in the world according to a report by CoinMarketCap.

In just one decade, Bitcoin has taken the entire world by storm despite its highly fluctuating nature and different legality issues.

The popularity of Bitcoin has been on the rise in Nigeria as well. Bitcoin is commonly used by Nigerian online casino players as many of the most reputable online casino venues in Nigeria accept digital currencies.

Like all other digital currencies, Bitcoin is an asset that cannot be controlled by any government or any central entity.

Bitcoin is fungible, liquid, international, and most importantly secure.

The growing demand has caused Bitcoin price to go up in a rather short period.

Even though Bitcoin is rather volatile, it continues to attract investors across the globe.

Bitcoin Trading Thriving in Nigeria

While Central Bank in Nigeria banned local banking and financial institutions from accepting and working with Bitcoin and other digital currencies, crypto and Bitcoin trading is thriving in the county.

Back in February 2021, Central Bank ordered all local banks to immediately close accounts that were operating in Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Officials from Central Bank announced that failure to comply will result in very serious sanctions.

This was quite shocking for everyone as just one month prior, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission announced that trading with digital currencies will be possible and a new regulatory framework will be introduced.

However, Nigerian Central Bank had some other plans and these included banking crypto trading altogether.

It should be noted that the decision to ban digital currencies came just a couple of days after major protests were held.

The protests revolved around the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) organization and its recent excesses.

Allegedly, the organization accepted Bitcoin as a source of funding.

Even though crypto trading is not allowed in the country, the demand has never been higher.

Despite legal challenges and disapproval from Nigerian Central Bank, the usage of Bitcoin has only increased.

Nigeria – The Biggest Market for Crypto Trading

For many investors in Nigeria, the authority’s decision to outlaw cryptocurrencies has highlighted all the benefits of using Bitcoin.

Bitcoin cannot be governed by Nigerian Central Bank, so many investors turn to Bitcoin for business operations.

Nigerians also commonly use Bitcoin to send funds abroad as obtaining fiat currencies other than the country’s native currency is often very hard.

Following the ban, the volume of transactions involving digital tokens coming from Nigeria increased to over $132 million in March 2021.

When compared to the volume of crypto transactions from the previous month, a 17% increase was recorded.

In June, the volume of crypto transactions from Nigeria increased by over 25% when compared to the volume of crypto transactions recorded the same month the previous year.

The popularity of crypto trading platforms has also been on the rise.

One of the most popular crypto trading platforms in Nigeria, Paxful experienced a major 57% increase in crypto trading from Nigerian customers in June of 2021.

Paxful also experienced the number of Nigerian crypto traders increased by over 83%.

Paxful, alongside other popular crypto trading platforms, is determined to convince the Nigerian government to change its perspective to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

While Nigerians cannot turn to traditional Bitcoin exchange platforms, they are free to trade Bitcoins on peer-to-peer platforms, such as Paxful and Local Bitcoins.

While certain risks remain, the popularity of Bitcoin in Nigeria is expected to increase.