By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a stronger outcome for the Naira as it appreciated further against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by 0.36 per cent or N6.05 on Friday, November 22 to trade at N1,652.62/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing rate of N1,658.49/$1.
The appreciation came as FX supply improved in the official market evidenced by the 48.5 per cent or $79.39 million improvement in the value of forex transactions during the session to $243.05 million from the $163.66 million recorded a day earlier, as indicated by data from FMDQ Securities Exchange.
In the spot market, the local currency maintained stability against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the final trading session of the week by N2,139.86/£1 and N1,783.36/€1 apiece.
A look at the black market indicated that the domestic currency suffered a loss of N5 against the greenback yesterday to quote at N1,750/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s value of N1,745/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, the incoming crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies has renewed optimism for certain tokens.
Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024 has been positively received by the crypto community due to his previously expressed pro-crypto sentiments.
Investors are betting that his administration might foster policies conducive to the growth of the crypto industry.
Cardano (ADA) gained 24.8 per cent to trade at $1.10, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 18.1 per cent to $0.4651 on fresh speculations that Elon Musk’s X app (formerly known as Twitter) will facilitate payments between users speculating that the service might include transactions with some digital assets such as DOGE, given Mr Musk’s long-standing affection for the token.
Further, Ripple (XRP) recorded an 11.6 per cent growth to sell for $1.55 tapping into expectations of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US among some traders amid the perceived lenient regulatory environment.
In addition, Litecoin (LTC) went up by 10.9 per cent to $101.89, Binance Coin (BNB) added 3.9 per cent to close at $653.83, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 0.2 per cent rise to trade at $259.83.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 0.8 per cent to $3,352.15, and Bitcoin (BTC) receded by 0.4 per cent to $98,799.94, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
Dipo Olowookere