Why Bitcoin? Nigeria is faced with violent protests in the middle of cash shortage

Why Bitcoin? Nigeria is faced with violent protests in the middle of cash shortage

The cash withdrawal restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have strongly supported Bitcoin as a solid value -conservationist and censor resistant currency.

Nigeria is currently faced with a lack of physical cash after the CBN has redesigned their banknotes, making the old notes unusable for the local Naira currency. Politicians prompted citizens to flood banks and ATMs to exchange their old notes for new ones.

nigeria limited cash withdrawals

With the redesign from January 9, a weekly cash withdrawal limit of 500,000 Naira for individuals (around $ 1,087) and 5,000,000 Naira (around $ 10,087) for organizations, most banks and ATMs have no cash for output.

To make it difficult to make point-of-sale (POS) transactions and fees according to A report by The Guardian, have shot up. Nigerians are forced to pay Cash withdrawal by POS for each 10,000 Naira (22 US dollars).

unrest in Nigeria because of cash shortage

The CBN claims that politics is aiming to urge Nigeria, which is still heavily dependent on cash, into a digital cash economy. Promotion of the introduction of his CBDC the e-naira, and at the same time reduces the spread of counterfeit money in the country.

The move seems to have failed and left countless injuries and some dead citizens.

The shortage of money has disturbed companies and fueled violent protests across the country. According to The Guardian, angry demonstrators stormed the streets, attacked bank offices and ATMs and blocked streets that lead to the banks.

Bitcoin that fixes?

One of the many attractive properties of Bitcoin is that it is censor resistant. This means that it is not bound to a central authority, which makes it impossible for a government to control it.

The introduction of Bitcoin in Nigeria offers the citizens around the clock immediately access to their funds to affordable fees. Since the transactions are peer-to-peer and decentralized, they cannot be stopped.

In addition, Bitcoin also aims to solve the problem of inflation. With the Naira shortage, the inflation rates in Nigeria also shoot up and are currently over 21 %in the last month alone. The status of Bitcoin as a value preservation and protection against inflation could protect the owners from the effects of increasing inflation in Nigeria.

The advantages of keeping BTC in the middle of the current situation in Nigeria are becoming increasingly clear, since the demand for the digital asset reaches new highs. The Bitcoin premium in Nigeria recently increased by 60 % to $ 38,000 per Btc.

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