Economy
Nigeria Records Highest Crypto Ownership, Use in 2022
By Adedapo Adesanya
A new research has revealed that Nigeria topped the countries with the highest rate of cryptocurrency use and ownership in 2022.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, clinched the top spot, with almost half the population having used or owned cryptocurrency.
The study, conducted by an online casino guide Trading Browser, analysed data on crypto ownership and usage. The ranking was done via the percentage of the population that reported that they used or owned cryptocurrency each year from 2019 to 2022.
Nigeria tops the list, with 45 per cent of the population using or owning cryptocurrency in 2022. The nation boasts over 90 million people using cryptocurrency – that’s almost 150 per cent higher than the population of the United Kingdom.
From 2019 to 2022, Nigeria saw a 17 per cent total increase in ownership and use from 28 per cent to 45 per cent, equating to over 34 million people adopting cryptocurrency over the three years.
Coming in second place is Thailand. The Southeast Asian country has a massive 44 per cent of its population reporting to using or owning cryptocurrency – equal to just over 30 million people.
Despite being dwarfed by some of the other contenders on the list, Thailand has the biggest uptake in ownership and usage, with a huge 21 per cent increase from 23 per cent to 44 per cent. That’s equal to 14.6 million people, just over one in five of the population of the country, which is the highest percentage of the top ten.
The number three spot belongs to Turkey. The transcontinental country has 40 per cent of its population owning and using cryptocurrency in 2022, equal to over 33 million people. The adoption of cryptocurrency has doubled from 20 per cent to 40 per cent amongst the population from 2019 to 2022 – over 16 million people. This increase from 2019 to 2022 places Turkey second in terms of cryptocurrency uptake.
The first South American country on the list, Argentina, comes in fourth with an ownership and usage rate of 35 per cent in 2022 – almost 16 million people. This may well change in the near future, though, with several draft laws aimed at institutionalising and regulating various aspects of digital assets and the virtual currency industry.
In fifth place comes the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is hot on the heels of Argentina, with 34 per cent of the population owning or using cryptocurrency in 2022 – just over one in three people of the almost 10 million population.
Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that a key area the UAE is looking to expand into, is cryptocurrencies. So, this might well mean that the 34 per cent figure is set to increase over the coming years.
The remainder of the top ten features the Philippines in sixth place with 29 per cent (15 million) of its population using or owning cryptocurrency. Vietnam is in seventh place with 27 per cent of the population, equalling just over 26 million people using or owning cryptocurrency.
Surprisingly, in joint eighth place, the country with the highest population in the top ten, India, is matched with the country with the lowest population in the top ten, Singapore. Both nations have a rate of 25 per cent of the population owning or using cryptocurrency in 2022, over 341 million and almost 1.5 million, respectively.
In ninth place is Brazil. The second South American country of the top ten has the lowest rate of cryptocurrency ownership and use at only 24 per cent – just over 51 million of the population. Last place in the top ten is South Africa, with a usage and ownership ship of 23 per cent, working out to over 13 million people.
Surprisingly, the United States ranks 22nd on the list, with only 16 per cent of the population owning or using cryptocurrency. That’s equivalent to just over one in six people. The United Kingdom ranks even lower, coming in at 50th place with only 11 per cent of the country owning or using cryptocurrency – equal to just over 7 million people.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Trading Browser said, “The information presented in the data offers valuable perspectives on the industry’s current status, specifically emphasizing the increasing adoption of digital assets worldwide. It is positive to observe various countries making strides in terms of cryptocurrency regulation and infrastructure. It is hoped that this data will contribute to the further development and widespread acceptance of digital assets.”
The study was conducted by Trading Browser, a one-stop solution for cryptocurrency traders and investors. They have a dedicated team of experienced crypto professionals on hand to guide and help people through cryptocurrency trading. They also provide information on the market, best practices for trading, and useful tools and resources for making informed decisions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.62 per cent on Friday, December 12 with the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumping by 22.20 points to 3,600.43 points from 3,578.23 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased by N13.28 billion to close at N2.154 trillion from the previous day’s N2.140 trillion.
During the session, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N2.53 to close at N39.71 per share compared with the previous day’s N37.18 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc added 35 Kobo to its price to finish at N5.00 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N4.65 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 23 Kobo appreciation to sell at N60.23 per share versus N60.00 per share.
It was observed that yesterday, the price of Golden Capital Plc went down by N1.05 to N9.45 per unit from N10.50 per unit, and UBN Propertiy Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N2.01 per share from the N2.22 per share it was traded a day earlier.
There was a significant improvement in the level of activity for the day, as the volume of transactions increased by 6.2 per cent to 37.4 million units from the previous day’s 35.2 million units, the value of trades went up by 265.1 per cent to N4.9 billion from N1.4 billion, and the number of deals soared by 13.80 per cent to 33 deals from 29 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the last trading day of this week as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, the second spot was taken by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units traded for N9.5 billion, and third space was occupied by a new comer in MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most active 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 valued at N420.3 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 537.0 million units sold for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bullish run on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued on Friday with a further 1.00 per cent growth buoyed by gains recorded by Guinness Nigeria, Champion Breweries, and others.
Data showed that the consumer goods space expanded by 1.53 per cent during the last trading session of the week, as the insurance counter grew by 0.51 per cent, and the industrial goods sector marginally gained 0.01 per cent.
However, the banking index depreciated by 0.54 per cent due to a pocket of profit-taking, and the energy industry shrank by 0.09 per cent, while the commodity sector closed flat.
Guinness Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N217.80, Morison Industries rose by 9.84 per cent to N4.69, Champion Breweries jumped by 9.69 per cent to N14.15, Austin Laz grew by 9.66 per cent to N2.27, and C&I Leasing appreciated by 9.62 per cent to N5.70.
Conversely, eTranzact lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.60, Chellarams slumped by 9.00 per cent to N13.20, Eunisell depleted by 9.89 per cent to N75.15, Africa Prudential moderated by 9.77 per cent to N12.00, and DAAR Communications decreased by 9.18 per cent to 89 Kobo.
The busiest stock on Friday was Access Holdings with 107.6 million units sold for N2.2 billion, Consolidated Hallmark traded 59.9 million units worth N245.8 million, Zenith Bank transacted 48.2 million units valued at N3.1 billion, Transcorp Power transacted 42.8 million units for N13.1 billion, and Champion Breweries exchanged 36.4 million units valued at N510.2 million.
At the close of business, a total of 602.8 million units worth N30.7 billion exchanged hands in 20,550 deals yesterday, in contrast to the 529.7 million units valued at N12.3 billion traded in 18,159 deals on Thursday, representing a surge in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 13.80 per cent, 149.59 per cent, and 13.17 per cent apiece.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) soared during the session by 1,485.89 points to 149,436.48 points from 147,950.59 points and the market capitalisation moved up by N945 billion to N95.264 trillion from N94.319 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
An intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the foreign exchange (FX) market eased the pressure on the Naira on Friday.
The apex bank sold forex to banks and other authorised dealers in the official window to defend the domestic currency, helping to calm the FX demand pressure, with the Nigerian currency appreciating against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 0.11 per cent or N1.57 to sell at N1,454.50/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,456.07/$1.
Also, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.95 to close at N1,946.15/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,950.11/£1 but lost 10 Kobo on the Euro to quote at N1,706.46/€1 compared with the N1,706.36/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
At the black market segment, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar during the session at N1,470/$1 and also traded flat at N1,463/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
Despite the sigh of relief, demand pressures outweighed the robust supply from the CBN and inflow from offshore players looking to participate at the OMO bills auction.
Gross FX reserves increased for the twenty fifth consecutive week, growing by a strong $396.84 million week-on-week to $45.44 billion.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was down on Friday as pressure remained after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Wednesday, which hinted at a possible rate cut pause in January. As a result, markets now expect only two rate cuts in 2026 instead of three.
However, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee, who was against a December rate cut, said he expects more in 2026 than the current median projection.
Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 5.1 per cent to $3,090.61, Solana (SOL) declined by 4.5 per cent to $132.79, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 3.8 per cent to $0.4103, and Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 2.5 per cent to trade at $0.1373.
In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 2.4 per cent to sell at $90,342.74, Litecoin (LTC) tumbled by 1.9 per cent to $81.86, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 0.6 per cent to $886.93, and Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.5 per cent to $2.02, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
Pingback: Part 2 — Enforcing Digital Identity – IndieNewsNow