1. Nigeria Will Face a Recession in the Future
Most developing economies like Nigeria expect their economies to go into a downturn in the coming months. The nation is still gasping for breath after being beaten severely by a 2016 economic recession. The nation’s pace of recovery has been slow, despite achieving a milestone: 2.55% gross domestic product (GDP). History has shown that bitcoin can be a great tool to hedge against the risks of a recession.
2. Bitcoin Beats the Naira
In 1972, the Naira was created. At the time, two US dollars were required to buy one Nigerian Naira. The Naira retained its value until 1986 when its exchange rate tumbled to 2. In December 2018, the dollar surpassed the Naira by over 360 times. The loss of value in Naira has struck a blow through the economic dreams of most Nigerians. Bitcoin, however, has served as a rope of economic freedom for those in nations where their fiat is on a race to the bottom.
3. Bitcoin Does not Charge Bank Fees
Banks in Nigeria charge customers a countless amount of fees, which bitcoin does not charge. Four banks generated 24.3 billion Naira from account maintenance charges alone. Bitcoin is not like this. It allows for transactions to be made without the high fees that banks charge.
4. It’s Easier to Pay Bills With Bitcoin
Paying bills is easier due to the faster and more transactions that are possible with the cryptocurrency. Instead of having to walk long distances to pay a bill, you can use platforms such as NairaEx where you can use NairaEx Bill where you can pay for your electricity, cable subscription, and airtime.
5. Holding Bitcoin is Safer than Holding Money at Banks
Nigerian banks lost N12.06 billion to fraud and forgery in only six months. The money of a lot of bank customers is not as safe as they would like to think. Many Nigerian banks have come but Bitcoin has been able to stay safe, even through financial downturns in nations.
6. International Transactions are Free With Bitcoin
The Nigerian Naira has been falling at record rates, making international transactions more costly. Not only is there a limited supply of dollars for Nigerians to be given but businesses and people struggle under costlier international business transactions.
7. Bitcoin is Popular in Nigeria
Data shows that Nigerians are among the most active users of bitcoin in the world. The demand is so much that the nation recently became the eighth African nation to welcome bitcoin. The nation has consistently topped Google searches for ‘Bitcoin’. With heightened demand for Bitcoin in the nation, more shops and other businesses will want to use bitcoin to make transactions.
8. Nigeria’s Digital Economy Needs Bitcoin
Nigeria’s youth have embraced the digital economy, which has made it possible to engage in more business activities locally and internationally. Oftentimes, Nigerians face challenges when trying to receive payments from foreign clients. The borderless nature of bitcoin opens gates for quick and cheap payments to be made.
9. Bitcoin Does Not Require Personal Information
Bitcoin does not require the personal information to be used. While most banks reject people for not providing personal information, Bitcoin transactions can be made without the need to provide personal information. This makes it easy to carry out transactions without having to look for personal details.
10. Bitcoin has Outperformed Nigerian Stocks Over 10 Years
Over the last 10 years, Nigerian stocks have failed investors, with a continued race to the bottom and record losses recorded. The cryptocurrency has grown from strength to strength from the days of $1 Bitcoin to peaks of $20,000. As it stands, Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $124,261,072,115 while the Nigerian Stock Exchange has a market capitalization of $28,257,834,000.
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