Hello, for Nigerians looking for a way to buy bitcoin in Naira, you got no worries, there several methods which are available for Nigerians and those who want to buy some bitcoins. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, especially for the fact that many websites will reject your regular cars such as Verve Cards, which are only used locally. In fact, some master cards won’t work, but then you will a knowledge of website which will accept your cards, or website which will accept a direct transfer.
Luno is one of the most trusted websites where you can buy Bitcoin in Naira, yes Naira. Personally, I have been using them for 3 years, without issues.
Verify your identity using BVN because they are linked to a bank in Nigeria which will enable us to buy Bitcoin in Naira that is why you need to enter BVN.
An OTP code will be sent to your phone, enter that code to allow them to debit the same amount from your bank at a little token.
Now money will be added to your Naira wallet on your Luno profile, simply convert this Naira funds into Bitcoin, viola! You get your bitcoins using naira.
A number of similar sellers will be displayed, these buyers must have requested an amount similar to yours.
The moment you inform the seller you have deposited his money in Niara, your Bitcoin will be credited to your wallet immediately. This same system exists in Paxful, another trusted Bitcoin buying platform in any currency including Naira.
Bitcoin is arguably the world’s most popular cryptocurrency with an unknown inventor(s). Though the invention of bitcoin was done under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, there are still disputes over the actual person (or group of people) who invented the cryptocurrency. In 2009, bitcoin was officially launched as open-source software and ever since then, it has attracted millions of investors from across the globe.
For the purpose of symbolic identification, bitcoin is denoted with two “ticker symbols’’ which are XBT and BTC. In conversion, bitcoin can be split into subunits of either 1/1000 millibitcoin or 1/100000000 satoshi. Besides being a globally recognized payment system, bitcoin is influential for being the first digital currency without a centralized system such as a “single administrator’’ or a “central bank’’. For bitcoin transactions to be carried out, intermediaries are not needed and this gives bitcoin operators the chance to transact with each other directly.
Originally, bitcoin came from Satoshi Nakamoto who is regarded as its inventor and original designer. As designed by the latter, bitcoin is said to be a digital asset functioning as a form of currency. In this regard, bitcoin has been given alternative names including virtual currency, digital currency, cryptocurrency, electronic currency and digital cash.
Although bitcoin was designed by its originator to function as a currency, there are still disputes over its currency status. As stated by The Economist in 2015, bitcoins consists of various monetary qualities which are found in every currency. In addition to the fact that bitcoins are hard to earn, the two other monetary qualities found in them –according to The Economist –are (i) easy verification and (ii) limited supply.
By and large, many economists have attested bitcoin’s currency status claiming that the cryptocurrency has a convincing capability to function as a medium of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account. In Economics, the three latter qualities are classified as the basic functions of money or any currency. Since bitcoins show the tendency to exhibit these qualities, many economists have appreciated their currency status.
Among all the monetary qualities bitcoins seem to exhibit, the medium of exchange is considered the most notable because, in 2015, it was recorded that more than 100,000 merchants had legalized the use of bitcoins as an exchange medium. However, as a store of value, bitcoins have failed to show convincing stability especially when the bitcoin market underwent volatility in 2014. At the time, retailers receiving bitcoins had no option but to resort to other currencies as their basic unit of account.
Bitcoins are currently in wide use and statistics provided by various veritable sources have shown that there are millions of unique bitcoin users. Recorded as of 2017, Cambridge University revealed that the number of unique persons with cryptocurrency wallets ranged from 2.9 million to 5.8 million. Moreover, it revealed that bitcoin was the commonest form of cryptocurrency used by these people.
In 2013, the use of cryptocurrency was not yet significant as records revealed that the number of users ranged from 300,000 to 1.3 million persons. But today, the number of cryptocurrency users has increased massively across the world.
Thousands of merchants have appreciated the use of bitcoins as a medium of exchange. In 2015, it was recorded that over 100,000 merchants had started accepting bitcoins. In December 2014, it was recorded that about 4 globally recognized firms received payments in bitcoins. These firms included Microsoft, Newegg, Dell, and Paypal.
In 2016, five out of the world’s leading online merchants legalized bitcoin’s acceptance as an exchange medium. However, in 2017, the figure decreased to three online merchants and various reports revealed that high transaction fees were the major factor behind this decline. At the time, some consumers decided not to spend their bitcoins as a result of exorbitant transaction fees which relatively stemmed from value increase, prolonged transaction times and scalability issues.
In November 2017, PwC became the first “Big Four’’ accounting firm to accept payment in bitcoins. Meanwhile, the acceptance took place at PwC’s office in Hong Kong where the cryptocurrency [bitcoin] was received in exchange for the advisory services rendered to local experts in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Today, there are authorized payment service providers (like Coinbase and BitPay) that are concerned with the use of bitcoin in payments. These payment service providers serve as vital links between bitcoin customers and the merchants accepting bitcoins. The basic responsibility of a payment service provider is to receive the payments made by bitcoin customers. Meanwhile, the payment service provider does this on behalf of the bitcoin merchant and converts the bitcoin payments into specified local currency –the money which is readily accepted as a form of legal tender. Then the payment service provider is expected to transfer the converted amount to the bank account operated by the merchant. For every bitcoin conversion the payment service provider does, it charges a certain fee.
In Cyprus, many people bought bitcoins in the course of the 2012-13 Cypriot financial crisis. Meanwhile, these people made this move to safeguard their financial lives in case savings accounts were taxed or seized.
The Washington Post made a declaration in 2013, implying that it had acquired 1% of the overall bitcoins available then. Also, publications have been released to favour investment in bitcoins and reports claim that Forbes has been an exponent of the idea (of bitcoin investment) since December 2015.
Investment in bitcoins has yielded benefits and drawbacks and several reliable sources have their testimonies regarding this. The duo of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and European Banking Authority issued warnings in 2013 and 2014 implying that the idea of bitcoin investment involves consequential risks. However, in 2013, Forbes released a report ranking bitcoin as the best investment of the year.
In a report released by Bloomberg in 2014, the ranking organization ranked bitcoin among its “worst investments of the year’’ but in the subsequent year (2015), bitcoin appeared at the top of the organization’s currency tables.
In 2017, bitinfocharts.com released a report stating that bitcoin wallets are 9,272 in number with the estimated bitcoin worth exceeding $1 million. People keep bitcoin wallets nowadays and it is observable that an individual can own more than one bitcoin wallet. In consequence of this, there is no certainty about the actual number of Bitcoin millionaires.
In every bitcoin transaction, bitcoin prices are a vital factor many customers and merchants take into account. Over the years, bitcoin prices have been marked by fluctuations and a series of depreciation and appreciation. The value of a single bitcoin in 2011 was marked by a sharp increase to $32 from the initial value of $0.30 but afterward, the value went back to $2. Also, the price of bitcoin started increasing over the course of the 2012-13 Cypriot financial crisis and precisely on April 10, 2013, it was pegged at $266. But later on, it suffered an unfortunate crash causing a single bitcoin to equate $50. The value of a single bitcoin on the 10th of November 2013 was pegged at $1,242 but by August 2014, the value had decreased by a wide margin and was pegged at $600.
Although millions of people have appreciated the use of bitcoins, many people have spoken against the rate at which they consume electricity in the process of mining. According to The Economist, bitcoins’ overall electricity consumption would be 1.46 terawatt-hours annually even if all bitcoin-mining firms decided to utilize modern facilities. During the latter part of 2017, bitcoin-mining activities across the globe were reckoned with the energy consumption of 1 to 4 gigawatts of electricity.
Today, there are bitcoin-mining firms in Iceland and other regions where geothermal energy is easy to get an Arctic air can be cooled without any restraint. In order to limit the costs of electricity, bitcoin-mining firms across Austria, Washington, Quebec, and Tibet utilize hydroelectric power. Hydro Quebec attracts many bitcoin-mining firms simply because the supplier [Hydro Quebec] has an enormous amount of energy. A study carried out by the University of Cambridge reveals that the bulk of bitcoin-mining activity is carried out in China mainly because the Chinese government offers subsidies on the consumption of electricity.
Naira came into existence on January 1, 1973, as a replacement for the initial pound currency at the exchange rate of 1 pound equals #2. With the introduction of naira, Nigeria became the last nation/country to secede from the £sd currency system. In 2008, the Nigerian government announced the decision to change the currency’s denomination system by making 100 old Naira equivalent to 1 new naira but later on, the decision was terminated and the proposed denomination never came into effect. Symbolically, naira is denoted with the code NGN and the sign #. In monetary conversion, one naira can be split into 100 Kobo.
As issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, naira comes in banknotes and coin denominations. The coin denominations include 50 kobo, 1 naira and 2 naira while the banknotes are issued in variants of #50, #5, #1000, #20, #100, #500, #200 and #10.
Nigeria is the only country which adopts naira as its basic monetary unit and the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) is the only central monetary system authorized to issue it. As a form of legal tender, naira is widely accepted as the currency of Nigeria and it serves a significant purpose in terms of exchange. To establish the stability of price and money, the CBN regulates the volume of money in economic supply. For the purpose of currency management, the CBN charges its Currency & Branch Operations Department with the duty of disintegrating, reissuing, processing, distributing and procuring coins and banknotes.
Inflation is one of the common economic problems in Nigeria and this clarifies that the Nigerian naira has suffered recurring series of inflation. In 2011, the CBN declared that attempts had been made to keep the yearly inflation at a rate less than 10%. In that same year, the key interest rate was increased by the CBN a number of times and this kept it at 12% as against the initial rate of 6.25%. Early 2012, the CBN had a plan to keep the key interest rate at 12%. Meanwhile, this move was aimed at reducing the inflation which had resulted from decreased fuel subsidies.
Following the exchange rate (of 197 Naira to 1 US$) which had remained effective for a number of months, naira was given the chance to float as of 20th of June 2016. Considering trading circumstances, it was speculated then that the exchange rate between naira and the US dollar would be 280-350 naira per dollar.
As discussed earlier, bitcoin is a popular cryptocurrency widely used across the globe while naira is the basic monetary unit of Nigeria. In exchange, the value of a single bitcoin far exceeds that of a naira. Currently, a single bitcoin equals #2, 685,212. To find out the latest bitcoin to naira exchange rates, we have compiled some verified data and the information is updated as of March 29, 2018.
NOTE: In the table below, bitcoin is denoted with BTC while the Nigerian naira is denoted with NGN.
That is all about bitcoin to naira rate today in Nigeria.