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Africa Fintech Start-up Growth: Nigeria Dominates in ‘Big Three’ Markets
10.7.2021
According to the findings of the latest study by Disrupt Africa, the number of fintech start-ups based on the African continent grew to 576 in 2021. This figure represents a 17.3% jump from the 491 start-ups that were operating on the continent in 2019. Overall, the number of fintech start-ups...
Nigerian Twitter Suspension Has Unintended Effects on Country’s Crypto Community
6.7.2021
On the surface, it looks like Nigeria’s suspension of Twitter operations on June 4 may have been triggered by the microblogging company’s decision to take down a controversial tweet — from President Mohammed Buhari. However, as some observers have noted, the removal of the tweet...
Nigerian Currency Overvalued by 10% Says Central Bank Governor
1.7.2021
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has reportedly told investors that the country’s currency is overvalued by 10%. The governor’s remarks, which have been confirmed by two unnamed sources, suggest that the central bank is planning to devalue the naira...
‘Doctor Bitcoin’ Pleads Guilty to Running Illegal Crypto Exchange in US, Faces 5 Years in Prison
30.6.2021
A Texas man, who calls himself “Doctor Bitcoin,” has pleaded guilty to running an illegal cryptocurrency exchange business, converting cash to bitcoin. He faces five years in federal prison. Crypto Exchange Operator Pleads Guilty The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday...
Nigerian Learning Institution Says It Now Accepts Crypto as Payment for School Fees
29.6.2021
A learning institution in Nigeria’s Kano state, the New Oxford Science Academy, recently announced it will be accepting cryptocurrency as payment for school fees. According to the school’s proprietor, Sabi’u Musa Haruna, the institution arrived at this decision after consulting...
Nigerian secondary school will accept crypto payments despite regulatory uncertainty
25.6.2021
"We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money,” said school director Sabi’u Musa Haruna
Report: Nigerian NFT Artists Thrive Despite Bubble Fears and Ongoing Central Bank Anti-Crypto Restrictions
25.6.2021
Nigerian artists are now increasing their net worth by leveraging the art world’s lucrative pivot to non-fungible tokens (NFT). According to reports, this move to NFTs is happening despite the Nigerian central bank’s renewed anti-crypto stance. NFT Bubble Concerns As a recent CNN report...
Nigeria's comms minister links blockchain to national digital innovation efforts
24.6.2021
Nigeria’s government is looking to drive blockchain adoption as part of its plans to establish emerging technology centers across the country
New World Bank Report: Nigeria’s Exchange Rate Policies Fueling Inflation, Affecting Food Prices
21.6.2021
Nigeria’s use of multiple exchange rates regimes may have contributed to a rise in the country’s inflation rate, the latest World Bank report has said. In addition, the report says ongoing restrictions on the use and movement of foreign exchange are “further pushing up prices...
Economist Steve Hanke Warns Salvadoran Bitcoin Adoption Could ‘Completely Collapse the Economy’
20.6.2021
The professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke, has recently been criticizing bitcoin adoption taking place in El Salvador. Hanke doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the Latin American country to use bitcoin as legal tender and says it could “completely...
Nigerian Central Bank Threatens Jail Time for Citizens Caught Defacing Naira Banknotes
16.6.2021
Fighting to stop the value of the naira from dropping further, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) faces yet another problem: abuse of naira banknotes. According to the CBN’s Aladeen Badajo, the central bank is concerned with the rate at which Nigerians “mutilate, deface, squeeze and even...
After Central Bank Devalues Naira by 5% Finance Minister Attributes Drop to ‘Market Forces’
14.6.2021
Nigerian Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has denied widespread reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had sanctioned the devaluation of the local currency sometime in May 2021. Instead, she attributes the naira’s fall to the “volatility in the oil price.” Ahmed’s...
The CBN Says Nigeria Will Have a Digital Currency Before End of Year
12.6.2021
Nigeria is likely to have its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of the year, an official with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said. In his remarks following the bankers’ committee meeting, Rakiya Mohammed, who is the director of information technology at CBN, also...
Nigeria's central bank plans CBDC pilot launch before the end of 2021
11.6.2021
The Central Bank of Nigeria says it is gearing up to test a sovereign digital currency to ease foreign remittance restrictions
Nigerian Lawmakers Slam Naira Devaluation, Warn of Inflation Implications
11.6.2021
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has moved a motion calling on the country’s central bank to end the continuing devaluation of the naira. In his unanimously adopted motion, House Representative Bamidele Salam warned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of the negative “implications...
Study Shows 36% of Nigerian Adults Are Financially Excluded — Digital Financial Services Bolsters Inclusion
6.6.2021
Nearly 36% of Nigeria’s 106 million adults lack access to both regulated and unregulated financial services, according to the findings of the Enhancing Financial Innovations and Access (EFIA) study. In addition, while the findings do suggest a marginal drop in the percentage of financially...
African Fintech Start-up Chipper Cash Raises $100 Million — CEO Says No Crypto Services for Nigeria
6.6.2021
Chipper Cash, an African fintech firm that specializes in facilitating cross-border payments, recently closed a $100 million Series C funding round. Taking the lead in what is now Chipper Cash‘s third fundraising round in the past twelve months is the venture capital (VC) firm, SVB Capital....
Fleeing Lynchpin of Nigerian Crypto Ponzi Scheme Inksnation Captured
29.5.2021
The lynchpin of Inksnation, one of Nigeria’s biggest crypto Ponzi Schemes, Omotade-Sparks Amos Sewanu, has been captured. According to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Sewanu, who was on the run, was nabbed in Sokoto, a city located in the northwest part of...
Crypto will ‘come to life’ in Nigeria, central bank governor says
28.5.2021
Emefiele said the Nigerian government will do its best to prevent crypto from being used to finance illicit activities
Nigeria’s Naira Loses Ground on Forex Black Market Just a Few Days After Devaluation
28.5.2021
The Nigerian naira currency lost further ground against major currencies after it depreciated to 493 nairas for one dollar on the black market on May 25, 2021. Before the latest depreciation, the currency had stabilized at around 485 nairas to the dollar. This was shortly after the exchange rate...