The Nigerian crypto market is still a bit small and young but has recently been generating interest as Nigerians begin to see value in cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology.
This has been made more evident with the launch of crypto start-ups such as DexAge and kurecoinHub all within the shores of the country.
Though the Apex bank has been going back and forth like a pendulum on its decision on cryptocurrencies and blockchain, this has not deterred the growing interest shown by Nigerians towards cryptocurrencies.
Nigerian Crypto Market
As we know by now, bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency developed in 2008 for the digital world.
With the concept of complete decentralization and peer-to-peer payment structure. This is secured by cryptography thus reinventing the way money is used worldwide.
A recent study done by one of Africa’s most trusted bitcoin merchants which also provides an avenue for trading cryptocurrencies, Luno has shown that cryptocurrency in Nigeria is here to stay.
This is despite its crawling adoption in the country at the moment.
The report stated that the Nigerian payment system was changing with a slow and steady leap towards cryptocurrencies.
Building on its 2017 issue of the luno cryptocurrency awareness survey, the 2018 issue went deeper in its research sampling over a thousand people and concluded that although cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum dipped to unbelievable lows, general public adoption did not reach predicted levels.
Apart from revealing a certain level of acceptance for cryptocurrencies, the research results also revealed a positive trend and future for digital currencies in Nigeria.
This would ultimately lead to more adoption and acceptance and could also see the launch of more crypto-based start-ups in the country.
When giving an analysis of the survey, Luno country manager in Nigeria, Owenize Odia stated they expected to see reasonable growth in the Nigerian crypto industry during the 2019 fiscal year, notwithstanding the price and market volatility witnessed in the previous year.
According to the survey results, more than 65% of respondents in the survey said that they were familiar with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
From this figure, the men were more aware of crypto than the females, with a staggering 76% of men and 54% of women.
The survey reports revealed further that about 48% of the respondents were willing to buy cryptocurrencies in the future even though not owning any digital currency at the moment.
This area was led by the female gender with a close shave at 51%.
The high probability and willingness to buy, coupled with 38% of the respondent who already owns one digital currency or the other, leads to the conclusion on continued growth and acceptance of cryptocurrency in Nigeria.
Odia said, “The report encourages us at Luno in our mission to upgrade the global financial system by providing a completely transparent, safe and convenient avenue for Nigerians to buy bitcoin and Ethereum. He also stated that bitcoin retains its spot as king of cryptocurrencies with over 80% of respondent owning bitcoin. This is distantly followed by Ethereum, bitcoin cash and Litecoin in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place with 30%, 23% and 22% awareness respectively.
According to the Luno survey, 76% buy cryptocurrency as a form of investment while those who use digital currencies for payment and remittance stood at 30% with online shopping and small micro-payments been the most significant.
It was also revealed in the survey that 42% of the participants believed that improvement in transaction time and security would influence the level of acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
Conclusion
Although the Apex bank in the country is yet to take a proper stance on digital currencies, the Nigerian crypto market is really in its early days.
However, the industry is expected to continue on its positive trend of growth as acceptance and adoption rise within the country.
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