Economy
Bitfinex Targets Emerging Markets to Drive Crypto Adoption
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of the earliest cryptocurrencies in the world, Bitfinex, has said amid a global shift, it will be focusing on emerging markets and exploring new ways to bring financial services to those who need them most.
This was made known by the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Bitfinex, Mr Paolo Ardoino, in a chat with Business Post.
“We believe this year will be focused on greater innovation, more transparency, freedom for everyone not served by traditional technologies and financial systems, and an end to practices that have tarnished our industry and obscured the promise that it holds.
“We will also be focusing on the long-term development of the Bitfinex Securities platform. We believe Security Tokens represent the next generation of capital markets,” he explained.
“By matching the technology of the digital asset industry with clearly defined issuer obligations, investor protection, and regulatory oversight, STOs offer investors and issuers a faster, cheaper, and lower friction way to invest, raise capital, and trade. This sets the stage for an exciting 2023 for both Bitfinex Securities and STO markets more broadly,” he added.
The CTO noted that the company had worked relentlessly to educate customers about the benefits and attributes of Bitcoin and the blockchain while providing a technically superior environment to buy, hold, and sell tokens.
“We believe that Bitcoin provides a technology and a payment solution that meets the need for a fast, efficient, and private service. With no centralized servers and unnecessary intermediaries – and at near zero cost – it enables financial inclusion and financial freedom,” he said.
“We are also inspired by the Bitcoin ethos of decentralization to develop peer-to-peer solutions that enable freedom of speech and are proud to be a major shareholder in Holepunch, which has pioneered distributed systems.
“We strongly believe that mass acceptance of crypto is most likely to occur because of its permissionless features and ability to create a more open and equitable world. Bitfinex was born at the dawn of the Bitcoin revolution, and everything we do is focused on creating simple, dependable, and accessible technology that promotes freedom,” he added.
However, he noted that the crypto space has come with many challenges, just as the market continues to evolve.
“Periodically, a new wave of speculation comes accompanied by new cryptocurrencies, which focus more on leveraging trending technologies than necessarily truly understanding them. Part of my role has been to educate and speak about the difference between bitcoin and stablecoins versus other more speculative coins.
“I believe crypto has a lot of potentials to help the unbanked population as long as it’s understood as a freedom tool rather than a quick rich scheme. Myself, and everyone at Bitfinex, is driven by the ethos of Financial Freedom, and we take on the challenge to educate the whole community about this,” he said.
To this end, Mr Ardoino said Bitfinex is at the forefront of promoting cryptocurrency adoption.
“In many Emerging Markets, particularly where there is currency volatility, Bitcoin provides a store of value, a form of remittance, and a gateway to financial freedom,” he added that there are 2 billion people who do not have a bank account because they are too poor and the banks do not want the costs of maintaining those accounts.
To this end, “With Bitcoin, it can be stored for free on the blockchain and can be sent around the world at zero or very low costs. We are also committed to providing a wide range of applications that enable the use of Bitcoin beyond just a savings tool.
“The impending launch of the Volcano Token will set another precedent demonstrating how emerging markets can use Bitcoin to tap access to capital and create a whole new economy,” Mr Ardoino said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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