In Nigeria, one Bitcoin (BTC) can cost as much as $38,000.
The price of Bitcoin in Nigeria has risen much above market levels, owing to the central bank’s ongoing attempts to convert its populace to digital currency.
At the time of writing, the price of 1 BTC on the Nigerian crypto market NairaEX is 17.8 million Naira, which is equivalent to $38,792.
This is a more than 60% premium over Bitcoin’s current market price, which is roughly $23,700 at the time of writing.
It comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria continues to put limitations on ATM cash withdrawals as part of its continuing efforts to hasten the country’s transition to a cashless society.
Following a December statement, the central bank implemented a cap on cash withdrawals earlier this month.
Citizens were only permitted to withdraw a maximum of 20,000 NGN (about $43.50) per day from cash machines (ATMs) as of January 9, with a daily restriction of 100,000 NGN (approximately $217).
The action also came only days before the introduction of new Naira banknotes to combat inflation and money laundering. Nigerians have until January 24 to swap their old larger denomination bank notes for the new currency, according to the central bank.
However, there were huge lines and accusations that there was not enough time to fulfill the deadline. According to reports on Jan. 29, the central bank has now extended the deadline until Feb. 10.
It is not the first time that the price of Bitcoin has risen in Nigeria. The central bank barred licensed financial institutions from offering services to cryptocurrency exchanges in the nation in February 2021. This pushed the BTC premium up to 36% at the time.
According to Google Trends, the increased interest in Bitcoin has also resulted in Nigeria being the #1 country for Bitcoin web searches.
Furthermore, Reuters reported on January 26 that the Central Bank of Nigeria created a local card program to compete with global cards such as MasterCard and Visa.
The “AfriGo” card program was created to provide Nigerians with improved access to bank card services while avoiding often-expensive international card fees and conversion expenses.
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