In Nigeria, the cost of Bitcoin has skyrocketed to levels far above the market as the government’s central bank continues to encourage the use of digital currency, as reported by Cointelegraph.
According to Cointelegraph, as of this writing, the cost of 1 BTC on the Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange NairaEX is 17.8 million Naira, or a staggering $38,792.
Over the current market price of Bitcoin, which is approximately $23,700 as of this writing, this represents a premium of more than 60%. It occurs as the Central Bank of Nigeria keeps limiting ATM cash withdrawals as part of ongoing efforts to hasten the country’s transition to a cashless society, Cointelegraph further noted.
Citizens were only permitted to withdraw 20,000 NGN (about $43.50) from ATMs per day, up to a maximum of 100,000 NGN (about $217), as of January 9.
The action was taken just days before new Naira banknotes went into circulation with the intention of preventing money laundering and inflation. Nigerians had until January 24 to exchange their older, higher denomination bank notes for the new money, per the central bank’s deadline.
(With insights from Cointelegraph)
