Naira Gains as Bitcoin Plunges to 18-Month Low

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira closed stronger against the United States Dollar after the Democracy Day break, appreciating on Tuesday, June 14 by 50 kobo or 0.12 per cent at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market.

During the trading session, it was exchanged at N420.75/$1 compared with the previous session’s exchange rate of N421.25/$1 amid a slight FX demand pressure.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions increased yesterday by 9.5 per cent or $9.97 million to $115.08 million from $105.11 million.

At the interbank segment of the market, the domestic currency appreciated by N19.05 against the Pound Sterling to settle at N502.44/£1 compared with the previous session’s N521.49/£1 and against the Euro, it also appreciated by N11.80 to sell at N434.59/€1 compared with the trading day’s rate of N446.39/€1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian currency finished stronger than its American counterpart at the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) window on Tuesday by N1 or 0.16 per cent as it was quoted at N615/$1 in contrast to the previous session’s N616/$1.

Meanwhile, in the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) continued a spiral fall yesterday as it plunged 5.4 per cent to $21,607.48. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has fallen over 25 per cent in the past five days alone, to its lowest value in 18 months.

BTC had reached a peak of almost $70,000 in November 2021 but with a recession looming, inflation soaring, and interest rates rising, riskier assets like cryptocurrencies are facing headwinds.

Its closest but a distant peer, Ethereum (ETH), saw its value go down by 3.7 per cent to sell at $1,175.00 just as TerraClassicUSD (USTC) moved downward by 4.8 per cent to sell for $0.0079, with Binance Coin (BNB) losing 2.4 per cent to sell at $217.61 and Dogecoin (DOGE) declining by 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.0537.

However, Litecoin (LTC) went up by 4.2 per cent to trade at $44.80, Cardano (ADA) gained 2.4 per cent to quote at $0.4683, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 2.3 per cent to $28.39, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 1.8 per cent rise to trade at $0.3156 while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) moved upward by 0.04 per cent to $0.999.