A growing number of businessmen in Nigeria are opting for handling their business using the digital currency instead of the Naira. The country’s national currency seems to be more volatile than Bitcoin, at times.
As cryptocurrencies fight for relevance around the world, Nigerian citizens are starting to use Bitcoin as an alternative to their own currency, the Nigerian Naira. If you take a quick look at the Naira on TradingView, you’ll quickly see how the currency has been losing its value consistently over the past 5 years.
Clear devaluation of the Nigerian Naira over the past 5 years.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise Nigerian entrepreneurs would rather deal in Bitcoin than their own currency. One example is Silas Okwoche, co-founder of Nerve Mobile. The self-taught engineer was purchasing Android smartphones from China via Alibaba. However, when the Nigerian Naira fell over 15% against the Chinese Yuan, his venture came to an end. Overnight, his product became too expensive to purchase and resell.
Another Nigerian entrepreneur, going by the name of Temo, also acquires his hardware from China. However, unlike Silas, this tech-savvy businessman uses Bitcoin to manage his affairs. Whenever new hardware from China is needed, Temo exchanges Naira for Bitcoin through LocalBitcoins.com — or a similar peer-to-peer marketplace, — and trades the digital currency for the Chinese yuan. He claims exchange fees are much lower than traditional methods, and the transactions are completed at a much faster rate. When using banks, Temo needs to pay fees to both Nigerian and Chinese banks, and he’ll most likely have to wait a week for his money to be available.
A growing number of businessmen in Nigeria are opting for handling their business using the digital currency instead of the Naira. The country’s national currency seems to be more volatile than Bitcoin, at times.
As cryptocurrencies fight for relevance around the world, Nigerian citizens are starting to use Bitcoin as an alternative to their own currency, the Nigerian Naira. If you take a quick look at the Naira on TradingView, you’ll quickly see how the currency has been losing its value consistently over the past 5 years.
Clear devaluation of the Nigerian Naira over the past 5 years.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise Nigerian entrepreneurs would rather deal in Bitcoin than their own currency. One example is Silas Okwoche, co-founder of Nerve Mobile. The self-taught engineer was purchasing Android smartphones from China via Alibaba. However, when the Nigerian Naira fell over 15% against the Chinese Yuan, his venture came to an end. Overnight, his product became too expensive to purchase and resell.
Another Nigerian entrepreneur, going by the name of Temo, also acquires his hardware from China. However, unlike Silas, this tech-savvy businessman uses Bitcoin to manage his affairs. Whenever new hardware from China is needed, Temo exchanges Naira for Bitcoin through LocalBitcoins.com — or a similar peer-to-peer marketplace, — and trades the digital currency for the Chinese yuan. He claims exchange fees are much lower than traditional methods, and the transactions are completed at a much faster rate. When using banks, Temo needs to pay fees to both Nigerian and Chinese banks, and he’ll most likely have to wait a week for his money to be available. growing number of businessmen in Nigeria are opting for handling their business using the digital currency instead of the Naira. The country’s national currency seems to be more volatile than Bitcoin, at times.
As cryptocurrencies fight for relevance around the world, Nigerian citizens are starting to use Bitcoin as an alternative to their own currency, the Nigerian Naira. If you take a quick look at the Naira on TradingView, you’ll quickly see how the currency has been losing its value consistently over the past 5 years.
Clear devaluation of the Nigerian Naira over the past 5 years.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise Nigerian entrepreneurs would rather deal in Bitcoin than their own currency. One example is Silas Okwoche, co-founder of Nerve Mobile. The self-taught engineer was purchasing Android smartphones from China via Alibaba. However, when the Nigerian Naira fell over 15% against the Chinese Yuan, his venture came to an end. Overnight, his product became too expensive to purchase and resell.
Another Nigerian entrepreneur, going by the name of Temo, also acquires his hardware from China. However, unlike Silas, this tech-savvy businessman uses Bitcoin to manage his affairs. Whenever new hardware from China is needed, Temo exchanges Naira for Bitcoin through LocalBitcoins.com — or a similar peer-to-peer marketplace, — and trades the digital currency for the Chinese yuan. He claims exchange fees are much lower than traditional methods, and the transactions are completed at a much faster rate. When using banks, Temo needs to pay fees to both Nigerian and Chinese banks, and he’ll most likely have to wait a week for his money to be available. growing number of businessmen in Nigeria are opting for handling their business using the digital currency instead of the Naira. The country’s national currency seems to be more volatile than Bitcoin, at times.
As cryptocurrencies fight for relevance around the world, Nigerian citizens are starting to use Bitcoin as an alternative to their own currency, the Nigerian Naira. If you take a quick look at the Naira on TradingView, you’ll quickly see how the currency has been losing its value consistently over the past 5 years.
Clear devaluation of the Nigerian Naira over the past 5 years.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise Nigerian entrepreneurs would rather deal in Bitcoin than their own currency. One example is Silas Okwoche, co-founder of Nerve Mobile. The self-taught engineer was purchasing Android smartphones from China via Alibaba. However, when the Nigerian Naira fell over 15% against the Chinese Yuan, his venture came to an end. Overnight, his product became too expensive to purchase and resell.
Another Nigerian entrepreneur, going by the name of Temo, also acquires his hardware from China. However, unlike Silas, this tech-savvy businessman uses Bitcoin to manage his affairs. Whenever new hardware from China is needed, Temo exchanges Naira for Bitcoin through LocalBitcoins.com — or a similar peer-to-peer marketplace, — and trades the digital currency for the Chinese yuan. He claims exchange fees are much lower than traditional methods, and the transactions are completed at a much faster rate. When using banks, Temo needs to pay fees to both Nigerian and Chinese banks, and he’ll most likely have to wait a week for his money to be available.
