Nigeria’s Protests Shows A Real Use Case For Bitcoin

By Kevin • February 22, 2023 10:58 am • Comments

The current financial situation in Nigeria has started to reveal a very real use case for crypto and could show that Bitcoin is one of the best solutions.

To provide background context, Nigeria has started to have a lot of protests due to 54% of its fiat currency now removed from circulation.

It essentially means that the old currency is becoming worthless and people must convert to using the new fiat currency if they want to preserve their wealth.

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Of course, this illustrates the instability of fiat in the country of Nigeria which has ultimately caused a lot of chaos due to the government not being able to resolve the issue in any meaningful way.

As a result, it makes sense that the demand for Bitcoin and crypto has skyrocketed in the country.

BitcoinMagazine reports:

Major roads in Ibadan, Oyo State, were blocked by bonfires and protests over the delay of the new notes. In Warri, Delta State, people have taken to the street, burning ATMs as a last resort.

In the Ojota area of Lagos, a fight broke out between commuters and motor park workers over collecting the old naira notes. I can feel their desperation and unrest — it’s what I felt when I was marching in Tahrir Square against corruption in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

This money isn’t play cash. Nigerians need naira to buy food from the market and to use it as fare to get into work. Their whole lives have been disrupted. And all of this is coming less than a week away from the country’s 2023 general election.

I pray that the election is still able to run this Saturday and that people are able to vote safely.

The suspected ease of centralized currency breaks apart when you see what’s happening in Nigeria. It’s a terrible situation and a sad but real use case for Bitcoin.

The case of Nigeria is also not unique as many other countries around the world also suffer from similar issues.

For example, many regions also suffer from having their fiat currency reach extremely high inflation levels where it has passed over 50%.

In such cases, Bitcoin and digital assets are a very real alternative that could be used to hedge against inflation.

Over time, industry experts expect more and more regions to understand this which will ultimately transfer a large amount of capital in the crypto markets.

This is especially true as digital assets become more accessible to everyone which cannot be said for other forms of finance.

CryptoPotato concludes:

One of the many attractive attributes of Bitcoin is that it is censorship-resistant. This means it is not tied to a central authority, making it impossible for any government to control it.

Adopting Bitcoin in Nigeria will offer citizens 24/7 instantaneous access to their funds at affordable charges. Since the transactions are peer-to-peer and decentralized, they cannot be stopped.

Additionally, Bitcoin also aims to solve the problem of inflation. With the naira scarcity, inflation rates in Nigeria are also skyrocketing, currently at over 21% in just the last month. Bitcoin’s status as a store of value and hedge against inflation could protect holders from the impact of rising inflation in Nigeria.

The upside of holding BTC amid the current situation in Nigeria is becoming more evident as demand for the digital asset is reaching new highs. The Bitcoin Premium in Nigeria recently rose by 60% to $38,000 per BTC.

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