According to recent findings, 67% of Nigerians trust Bitcoin more than traditional banks when it comes to safeguarding their savings.
The report revealed the crucial role being played by Bitcoin in Nigeria and several other emerging markets in terms of understanding, usage, and confidence around the crypto asset. It further revealed that 20 percent constituting at least one in five Nigerians are using Bitcoin to carry out transactions every day.
The research was compiled from over 1,400 self-defined tech-savvy respondents from 7 countries across the globe which include Nigeria, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, UAE, UK, and US.
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Part of the report reads,
“Nigerian respondents’ levels of usage and trust compare starkly with those expressed from so-called ‘established’ markets such Germany and the UK and Germany where daily usage levels are just 8% (for German respondents) and (9% for their UK counterparts). In terms of trust in addition to Nigeria, significant proportions of respondents from Brazil (35 percent) and the UAE (32 percent) would have more confidence in Bitcoin-based services to protect their life savings compared to those from markets such as the UK (20 percent) and Germany (22 percent).
“When it comes to ensuring the integrity of online transactions, emerging market respondents also revealed their relative confidence in Bitcoin, compared to alternatives. According to the data, 66 percent of Nigerian respondents and 35 percent from Brazil have more confidence in Bitcoin-based systems than alternatives such as banks, or national Governments, compared to figures of just 16 percent (Germany) and 21 percent (UK) who feel the same.”
Commenting on the report, Global Head of Business Development & ESG, Jonathan Hargreaves stated that the fact that over two-thirds of Nigerian consumers and a third of their counterparts from the UAE and Brazil would feel more confident entrusting their life savings in Bitcoin than traditional financial instruments speaks volumes about the protagonism these regions are already playing.
Notably, Cryptocurrency usage in Nigeria has continued to grow after reports revealed that the country is the second highest in the adoption of crypto in the world after India. However, the adoption rate has been spurred by several factors such as soaring inflation rate, and weakening currency amongst several other factors. A significant amount of Nigerians use crypto for P2P trading and to hedgeagainst problems like inflation, as well as for investment, with 90% expressing an interest in investing in cryptocurrencies in a survey released in 2023.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Crypto adoption has had a difficult history in Nigeria, from bans to restrictions. In a different twist, on December 2023, the Nigerian government lifted its crypto ban which saw the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reverse its stance, prompting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release guidelines for banks opening cryptocurrency accounts in January 2024.
However, in the first months of 2024, Nigeria came back into the crypto headlines following currency fluctuations and a dispute with Binance over untraceable funds. In mid-March, media reported that two executives were being detained.
The Binance controversy led to the government turning up the heat on exchanges operating in the country. On March 7, the SEC updated its guidelines for crypto service providers post the government’s block to access several crypto platforms like Binance by the locals.