Bitcoin was trading at a premium in Nigerian crypto currency exchanges on Monday as the Central Bank of Nigeria continued its cashless society campaign which includes ATM withdrawal limits that took effect earlier this month.
A single Bitcoin was selling for roughly N17.5 million, or around $38,000, at local exchanges NairaEX and Quidax as of 10 p.m. on Monday, Hong Kong time.
That price is about 40% higher than the global average Bitcoin price of $23,100, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin was reportedly trading at an even higher premium earlier in the day.
The Nigerian Bitcoin premium emerged after the CBN recently imposed domestic ATM cash withdrawal limits as part of its cashless economy drive.
As per a December regulatory directive from the CBN, which has been effective since January 9, citizens have been permitted to withdraw no more than N20, 000 from ATMs per day and up to N100, 000 per week.
The limits followed the CBN’s drive to replace existing bills with new and lower denomination banknotes.
Nigerians had until January 31 to swap for the new notes, but long queues and complaints about insufficient time led to a deadline extension to February 10, the BBC reported.
In January, local media reported that the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions plans to pass a law that recognizes digital currencies as investment capital.
CBN prohibited financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions in 2021, but block chain analytics company Chainalysis rated the country as the top crypto adopter in Africa in its latest crypto adoption index. (BBC)
