Cryptocurrency has become very popular among millennials since it became mainstream. Unlike a few years ago when the acceptability of the digital currency was still doubtful, it has now gained sufficient acclaim to qualify for use in making or receiving payments and also as an investment vehicle to hedge against inflation.
Cryptocurrency adoption in Nigeria
Cryptocurrencies are completely decentralized, meaning that they are not governed by any central bank or monetary authority. This has spurred their wide acceptance in many countries including Nigeria.
Nigeria’s predominantly young tech-savvy population is also the reason cryptos have found widespread acceptance in the country. According to Statista, 32% of Nigerians are users of cryptocurrencies, the highest in the world. Estimates show that of the top 10 countries for trading volumes, Nigeria ranked third after the US and Russia in 2020, generating more than US$400 million worth of transactions.
This wide adoption comes on the back of heavy regulations from the nation’s apex bank. However, a number of platforms are aiding the seamless adoption of cryptocurrency and this article highlights five of the most prominent ones in no particular order.
Patricia
Patricia harnesses the power of cryptocurrency to create alternative solutions to financial infrastructure, digital payments and global E-commerce. The platform allows you to securely buy or sell Giftcards and Bitcoin of any value, store them in a BTC or Local Currency Wallet and smoothly switch between the two for everyday transactions like airtime, data and cable subscriptions. Patricia has over 100,000+ downloads on playstore.
Features
- Receive funds through your Patricia Bitcoin wallet
- Multiple assets support
- Fiat and Bitcoin wallets available
- Buy/Sell Gift Cards
- Instant transactions
- Virtual and physical debit cards available
Buycoins Africa
BuyCoins is a service that enables users to trade cryptocurrency instantly with no wait time. Users can buy/sell cryptocurrency directly via the app without the hassle of looking for traders to buy from or sell to. BuyCoins’ goal is to provide a platform that serves users’ needs – whether it is buying, selling, storing, or transferring Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and USD Coin – as conveniently and quickly as possible.
Features
- Fund your account with Naira and easily buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and other cryptocurrencies.
- Excellent customer service.
- Earn up to 12% interest by locking your crypto savings for a specified period of time.
- Zero transaction fees.
Quidax
Quidax is an African-focused cryptocurrency exchange that makes it easy for you to buy, sell and store Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple’s XRP Litecoin & other cryptocurrencies. At Quidax, one of the long-term goals is to power the next generation of remittances.
The team is a firm believer in leveraging the internet to make the world unshakable when it comes to financing and Blockchain technology. Quidax has 100,000+ downloads on Playstore.
Features
- Naira deposits, withdrawals, and trading pairs available in Nigeria.
- Trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and XRP with Naira on Quidax using market and limit order.
- Quidax provides secure cryptocurrency wallets for the most popular digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Dash, and USDT.
- Instant withdrawal.
- 0% Maker trading fee.
- Quidax has its own API that supports third-party integration for automated trading.
Luno
Founded in 2013, Luno has been in cryptocurrency for almost as long as Bitcoin with over 21+ billion dollars in processed transactions.
Whether you’re new to Bitcoin or an advanced cryptocurrency trader, Lunos crypto wallet and trading exchange provides a safe and secure platform to buy Bitcoin and other digital currencies like Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin and more. With over 7M customers in 40+ countries, Luno has a global team of over 350 dedicated professionals that are always on hand to simplify your crypto journey. The app has over 5M+ downloads on Playstore.
Features
- Save and earn up to 7.6% APY Interest on your Crypto.
- Instant Payment & Withdrawal.
- Available on web, iOS or Android.
- Luno charges a 0% Maker trading fee.
Bundle Africa
Bundle Africa is a social payments app for cash and cryptocurrency. Founded in 2020 by Yele Bademosi, a former Director at Binance Labs, the app was specially built to serve the need of the typical native African user who prefers “financial services delivered digitally via mobile apps as opposed to visiting brick and mortar bank branches.
The bundle makes it easy and fun to make payments with cash as well as for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, BUSD, and BNB. The bundle has over 100,000+ downloads on Playstore
Features
- Make free transfers to your contacts.
- Enjoy the benefits of saving in dollars with Bundle Vault and earn up to 5.7% returns.
- Change one crypto to another with CoinSwap.
- Zero Transaction Charges.
- Buy crypto including Bitcoin, Ether, BUSD, BNB, Chainlink, and TRON on Bundle with your debit card, a bank transfer or another crypto.
Bottom line
Cryptocurrency exchange platforms facilitate the trading of cryptocurrencies meaning that users are able to send and receive payments from anyone on the network or around the world without requiring approval from any external authority.
Apart from the exchanges mentioned above, there are other peer-to-peer crypto exchange platforms that are suitable for buying and selling cryptocurrency. The volume of crypto transactions in the country and the world has been growing steadily in recent times, so we can expect an equivalent increase in the number of exchange platforms.