Economy
Crypto Trading is Thriving in Africa Amid COVID Restrictions
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected many people around the world. Due to the restrictions brought upon because of the spread of the virus, many people globally had problems going on with their regular daily lives.
Among many regions and parts of the world that suffered due to the spread of the virus was Africa. Many of the countries in the region reported increasing unemployment numbers. In such an environment, many Africans found crypto investments and trading as a way out of the hardships.
Crypto allowed people in the region the opportunity to transact their money freely and within a few minutes without having to deal with huge transaction fees. While the regulatory framework around crypto in Africa is far from being established, people are still using cryptos very actively.
The interest of Africans in the crypto trading market is increasing every single day in the region and showing the highest adoption rate of cryptos around the world. In some countries of Africa, the regulatory agencies are very strict when it comes to crypto activities.
In fact, some of the governments have totally banned crypto activities, including trading and investing. But, such heavy regulations seem to not affect the popularity of cryptocurrencies in the region. In fact, the interest has increased even more after such strict regulations were adopted in some of the African countries.
Africa is using the cryptocurrency market for numerous different reasons, including for doing business, protecting their savings and funds, and also sending and receiving funds overseas.
Why is Crypto So Popular in Africa?
There are many reasons behind the huge popularity of the crypto trading market in Africa. One of the main reasons why so many people have decided to turn to cryptocurrencies in the region is that they have had enough bad experiences with fiat currencies and they want to protect their funds from the effects of inflation.
Another very important factor that supports the popularity of the crypto market is that it lets locals send and receive funds without having to pay a lot of commissions and fees. In the region, peer-to-peer transactions are especially popular.
People in Africa are using cryptocurrencies for all different reasons. There are some people who are using it as an asset to trade, while others use it for day-to-day activities, such as selling goods, saving up money, or sending money to others.
As the national currencies of numerous African countries continue to depreciate, the population of the region had to find a way out of the situation. For many, cryptocurrencies are one of the only opportunities to preserve their wealth, while also watching it grow.
Another reason why so many people are showing such interest in the crypto trading market in Africa is that the market has become very easy to access for people of all backgrounds. Today, thanks to the increasing number of crypto exchanges offered to African traders, getting started in the market is very simple.
All they need to do is to open an account with one of the available crypto exchanges in the region, deposit funds, and start buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
In fact, trading cryptos does not require as much attention from traders anymore. This lets traders in the region go on with their day while making profits. It is possible thanks to the crypto trading robots, which are able to analyze the market in a matter of minutes for traders and make profits for them.
For example, while using an automated bitcoin trading robot, you will be able to sit back and let the robot make profits for you. There are different types of robots available in the market, some of them are able to analyze the market and provide traders with trading signals.
On the other hand, there are trading bots that are able to actually trade cryptocurrencies for you and make profits. The majority of the crypto robots use API keys to connect with crypto exchanges, which is a safe way of automated trading.
Crypto Trading in Africa
The past few years have been very important for the further development of the crypto trading market in the region. Amid the worsening situation in terms of economy and local currencies, the popularity of cryptocurrencies further increased.
Another important factor for the increasing popularity of the crypto trading market in the region was the Covid-19 pandemic. The ongoing pandemic caused numerous jurisdictions in the region to adopt different types of restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
Due to the restrictions, many people were left without jobs and lost their income. In this situation, the demand for the cryptocurrency trading market has increased dramatically.
However, although crypto trading is very popular in the region, the local regulations are far from being in favour of the crypto trading market. Many of the countries in the region have restricted trading cryptocurrencies altogether, while others have issued warnings against crypto trading.
But, even this did not get in the way of the further development of the market. Cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more popular in Africa every single day and the easier access to the market makes it even more attractive for local traders.
However, due to the local restrictions, people are mostly using P2P trading platforms to participate in the market. This made Africa one of the most active regions in terms of P2P crypto transactions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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