Nigeria Partners With Binance to Develop Virtual Free Zones
- Speaking in a meeting on Friday, Prof Adesoji Adesugba, NEPZA’s Managing Director said the partnership is aimed at developing Nigeria in a similar way as Dubai.
- Despite the high inflation in Nigeria, the country is harnessing the power of blockchain and cryptocurrency to stabilize the situation.
- Earlier last month, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the eNaira app has been downloaded 840,000 times and now has about 270,000 active wallets.
Nigeria through its Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has announced a partnership with global cryptocurrency exchange Binance to develop the first Virtual Free Zone in West Africa. Additionally, the partnership will involve Talent City for Nigeria, which has a similar mission.
Speaking in a meeting on Friday, Prof Adesoji Adesugba, NEPZA’s Managing Director said the partnership is aimed at developing Nigeria in a similar way as Dubai.
“We seek to break new grounds to widen economic opportunities for our citizens in line with the mandate of the Authority, the directive of the Honourable Minister, and the economic development agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari. Our goal is to engender a flourishing virtual free zones to take advantage of a near trillion dollar virtual economy in blockchains and digital economy,” Adesugba said.
Nigeria has to a greater extent adopted Bitcoin among other cryptocurrencies amid increasing fiat inflation. Furthermore, the annual inflation rate in Nigeria was reported at 19.64 percent in July 2022.
To put it into a different perspective $1 is currently exchanging at 428 NGN. In short, the Bitcoin price is trading at around 8,422,162.73 Nigerian Nairas.
Nigeria Looks to Cryptocurrency to Fight High Inflation
Despite the high inflation in Nigeria, the country is harnessing the power of blockchain and cryptocurrency to stabilize the situation. Late last year, the country launched eNaira, the first in Africa to help open up the Nigerian economy to the world.
Earlier last month, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the eNaira app has been downloaded 840,000 times and now has about 270,000 active wallets.
Reportedly, the eNaira has recorded a total volume of 4 billion naira worth approximately $9.3 million since its debut last October.
Notably, the country has a hosted population in Africa of around 200 million with 40 percent estimated to be unbanked.
However, the story is changing as Nigeria’s youths embrace cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in a great way. Furthermore, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has employed many graduates and continues to give hope to many who were previously unemployed.
Nonetheless, the eNaira does not address the direct printing of money by the country’s political elite.
In any case, the eNaira has provided more utility for the government to print out more money. As such, the Naira is expected to depreciate further in value against other global reserve currencies.
To hedge against uncontrolled inflation in Nigeria, local investors are turning to digital assets.
The move has in the past angered the Nigerian Central Bank, which even tried to ban Bitcoin trading in the country. The call proved futile after crypto enthusiasts in Nigeria turned to P2P trading options.
Rebecca is a Senior Staff Writer at BitcoinWisdom, working hard to bring you the latest breaking news in the cryptocurrency market. In the words of Elon Musk “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in. Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does. This will serve you well in the long-term.”
