How can Bitcoin improve the lives of Nigerians?

Interest in cryptocurrencies follows the upward trend. According to Google Trends, the number of search queries for the phrase “buy crypto” has increased significantly in recent months.

There is one country that stands as a benchmark for assessing the performance of the queries against Bitcoin. For the past year, Nigeria has been firmly at the top of the list. Only a few other African countries were able to come close to its indicators, in particular, Ghana and South Africa.

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa with more than $ 500 billion in nominal gross domestic product.

Of course, the main reason for the introduction of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria is socio-economic difficulties. Last year, the country overtook India as the country with the largest population living in extreme poverty.

The interest shown by Nigerians in Bitcoin directly indicates that the country’s residents see great prospects in the possibilities of making payments, transfers, and paying for goods and services in cryptocurrencies.

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Central Bank of Nigeria are planning to introduce cryptocurrency technology and have several structures working to implement blockchain in government insurance and financial services.

Cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. Infrastructure for exchanging and trading

Cryptocurrencies are a cost-effective alternative to the Fiat system, but in order to be a viable option, a functioning trading and exchange infrastructure is necessary.

In Nigeria, there are several local platforms that support the purchase and sale of digital assets for the national currency — naira (NGN). Nairaex is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Nigeria, followed by Bitpesa, a platform for exchanging digital currencies and making payments for border markets.

Bitpesa is also partnering with M-Pesa, a popular mobile money transfer service originally launched in Kenya and Tanzania. This platform also supports the purchase of Bitcoins using debit cards. For residents of Nigeria, there are a number of local platforms offering services in the field of cryptocurrencies, in particular, Wallet.ng, Busha, Tradefada, Bitfxt.

According to data from the US research company Chainalysis, monthly cryptocurrency transfers to and from Africa of less than us $ 10,000 made by individuals and small businesses jumped by more than 55% over the year to reach us $ 316 million.

Taking into account such strong growth in interest in Africa cryptocurrencies, Simba. Storage contributes to the development of the cryptocurrency infrastructure, allowing its customers around the world to exchange and store the main asset of the market — Bitcoin. By the way, thanks to SIMBA Stablecoin, which are issued to users in exchange for sent Bitcoins, residents of Nigeria will be able to freely move their Bitcoins in the ERC-20 network around the world between citizens of Nigeria. In addition, for the convenience of citizens, deposits with VISA and MasterCard cards will soon be available in SIMBA, and virtual cards will allow you to pay with Fiat (PayPass) for any purchases in the world, having Simba stablecoins on your account.

The future for cryptocurrencies

Ordinary Nigerians and businessmen are beginning to increasingly use cryptocurrencies for everyday payments, which can be seen even in street markets, where the payment method for suppliers of goods from China and the UAE in Bitcoins is considered the fastest and most convenient.

This, in turn, is reflected in the increase in business profits, allowing entrepreneurs to stay afloat and thrive, avoiding paying any commissions and the need to exchange the Nigerian Naira for dollars. Also, Bitcoin helps to protect businesses from the consequences of the devaluation of the national currency.

With Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy suffering from low oil prices and COVID-19, the Central Bank has devalued the Naira twice this year. As a result, importers must pay more to buy increasingly scarce dollars.

The popularity of Bitcoin in Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, is most evident among the young and tech-savvy part of the population, which was able to quickly adapt to the flagship cryptocurrency.it is also worth noting that even the first crypto-ATM on the continent appeared in Nigeria.

An additional driver of digital assets is the weakness of local currencies, which prevents the receipt of dollars, and the presence of a complex bureaucracy that makes it difficult to transfer money.

Bitcoin users in five countries from Nigeria to Botswana said that the cryptocurrency helps people make their business more flexible and profitable. It also serves as a support for those who work in Europe and North America, allowing them to earn more income, which they then send home.

Simba.Storage strives to ensure that every person on the planet can afford to have bitcoin and use It to their advantage. That is why SIMBA operates all over the world, providing the highest Swiss service for every citizen of the WORLD.

The SIMBA ecosystem provides for cold storage of Bitcoins in 4 countries that are most loyal to cryptocurrencies, namely, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, where Simba.Storage is located.

However, every citizen of the world can use secure storage services remotely, making a quick transfer, without fear of state bans and other unforeseen circumstances.

All these services are carried out for a minimum Commission price, if you compare similar opportunities available to residents of Nigeria, in the form of expensive cold hardware wallets or other solutions that, without exception, are not affordable for most citizens of this country.

Bitcoin is legal in Nigeria and this fact can contribute to the independence of the population in financial terms, become a window to financial freedom for a huge number of people and such a loyal attitude among the country’s population makes SIMBA services actively work on the side of the African continent, because the doors of Simba.Storage and related services of the company are open to everyone who opens their doors to the cryptocurrency market.

Perhaps, while others are only looking at blockchain technology and are wary of it — the economy of Nigeria, in the near future, will move much more confidently thanks to cryptocurrencies and perhaps for this country Bitcoin is an opportunity that they simply cannot miss to achieve financial independence.

This is a clear example of how innovative technologies are able to solve and are already solving global problems of humanity in the third world, and perhaps even contribute positively to the endless fight against poverty.