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.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed the Friday session on March 17 in the positive territory as three stocks pushed the market up by 0.36 per cent.
The three price gainers were led by Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc, which added N15.00 to move up to N205.00 per unit from N190.00 per unit.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated during the trading day by N1.11 to close at N75.11 per share compared with the previous day’s value of N74.00 per share, while Afriland Properties Plc went up by 2 Kobo to settle at N2.09 per unit versus Thursday’s value of N2.07 per unit.
The trio pushed down the N4.00 lost by 11 Plc yesterday, as the stock price of the energy firm ended at N150.00 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N154.00 per share.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation of the NASD OTC exchange rose by N3.48 billion to close the day at N961.12 billion compared with the preceding day’s N957.64 billion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) appreciated by 2.65 points to wrap the session at 731.44 points compared with 728.79 points of the previous session.
Yesterday, there was a jump in the volume of securities traded by 2,115.1 per cent to 739,755 units from 33,396 million units, the value of transactions increased by 15,683.7 per cent to N30.6 million from N193,846, and the number of deals jumped by 150 per cent to 10 deals from the four deals carried out a day earlier.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) by trading 425.2 million units valued at N448.5 million, UBN Property Plc was in second place for selling 365.8 units worth N309.5 million, and NRMC Plc was in third place for exchanging 25.0 million units valued at N137.5 million.
On a year-to-date basis by value, VFD Group Plc was on top of the chart after trading 7.3 million units worth N1.7 billion, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 425.2 million units worth N448.5 million, and UBN Property Plc with 365.8 million units valued at N309.5 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the United States currency in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P), the black market and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) windows of the foreign exchange (FX) window on Friday, March 17.
The Naira gained N2 against the US Dollar during the session as it closed at N754/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s value of N756/$1.
In the parallel market, the domestic currency improved its value by N1 against the American Dollar on Friday to quote at N747/$1 compared with Thursday’s exchange rate of N748/$1.
It was a similar outcome for the Nigerian currency at the I&E segment of the market as it closed stronger against the greenback by 17 Kobo or 0.04 per cent to sell at N461.83/$1 versus the N462.00/$1 it was quoted at the previous session.
This happened as there was a 10.2 per cent or $9.97 million in the value of forex transactions recorded during the session to $87.81 million from the $97.78 million reported a day earlier.
In the interbank segment of the market, the Naira witnessed no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro, closing at N556.45/£1 and N487.99/€1, respectively.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) moved to a fresh nine-month high on Friday at above the $27,000 level. The surge followed the US Federal Reserve’s decision to backstop embattled banks to a record of $152.9 billion.
BTC recorded a 6.0 per cent rise to trade at $27,546.42, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 5.8 per cent to sell at $1,813.37, Solana (SOL) chalked up 11.9 per cent to quote at $22.48, Litecoin (LTC) went up by 6.4 per cent to trade at $86.62, and Cardano (ADA) rose by 6.2 per cent to trade at $0.3523.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) made a 4.8 per cent appreciation to quote at $0.0776, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 3.9 per cent gain to settle at $0.3843, and Binance Coin (BNB) added 3.8 per cent to sell for $344.22, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) traded at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market settled lower on Friday, reversing early gains of more than $1 a barrel as banking sector fears caused both benchmarks to reach their biggest weekly declines in months.
Brent crude futures lost $1.73 or 2.3 per cent to close at $72.97 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate crude fell by $1.61 or 2.4 per cent to settle at $66.74 per barrel.
Brent fell nearly by 12 per cent in the week, its biggest weekly fall since December, and on its part, WTI futures fell 13 per cent, its biggest since last April.
The market has remained jittery following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank and with trouble at Credit Suisse and First Republic Bank.
The latest help went to First Republic Bank, which was rescued by a group of major US lenders, easing worries about the current banking turmoil.
The news calmed the markets, which were on edge over a potential banking crisis following the collapse of two US banks and the storm at Credit Suisse over the past week.
The bank is set to receive a $30 billion lifeline from a group of America’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Truist.
Investors are now awaiting the Federal Reserve’s rate decision next week. They widely expect the US central bank to raise rates by 25 basis points.
Analysts still expect constrained global supply to support oil prices in the foreseeable future.
Members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) attributed this week’s price weakness to financial drivers rather than any supply and demand imbalance, adding that they expected the market to stabilise.
Saudi Arabia and Russia, in a meeting on Thursday, affirmed their commitment to OPEC+’s decision last October to cut production targets by two million barrels per day until the end of 2023.
This comes ahead of an OPEC+ monitoring panel meeting that is due to meet on April 3.
There are also expectations that China’s demand recovery will continue to support prices, with US crude exports to China in March heading towards their highest in nearly two and a half years.
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