Solana is the Christmas weekend winner and beware of Nigerian investment influx as crypto is allowed again

Last Updated on 25 December 2023 by CryptoTips.eu

Solana continued to rise over the Christmas weekend, while Bitcoin appears to be taking a break in the final days of 2023. Other altcoins are also having a fantastic few days.

The Nigerian central bank announced in a press release on Saturday that trading in crypto will soon be allowed again. If you consider that there was around $56 billion worth of crypto trading done by Nigerians in the past 12 months according to Chainanalysis, regulatory approval could balloon that number.

Especially when we look at the country’s population pyramid, you’ll realize that this could cause a rush towards crypto.

Altseason?

The term ‘altseason‘ is trending among several well-known crypto fans, especially now that coins such as Solana, Mina, Injective and Polkadot are on the rise.

Solana in particular, which emerged as a real Christmas weekend winner, is doing very well. In 2023, the coin rose by a whopping 1000% year to date.

Nigerian Central Bank

Nigeria, for those who don’t know, is now the seventh largest country in the world in terms of population (after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan). But more importantly, Nigeria’s population is increasing rapidly, unlike the rest of most major countries. They have a very young population that has been very enthusiastic about crypto trading for years (as they do not trust the country’s political class and banks).

Research shows that crypto is mainly used for trading and to send money back to the family. With a peer-to-peer account on one of the many local crypto platforms, Nigerians do not have to leave any identity details and the illegal flow of money has grown incredibly in recent years.

Yomi Bilewomo of bitcoin platform Nairaex explained that Nigerians prefer crypto over banks as it is easier to open a crypto account instead of a bank account.

“To open a bank account, most Nigerians have to physically go to the bank, while, to access cryptocurrencies and make transactions, you only need to have internet access on your mobile phone,” he explained.

The Central Bank realized how big black trading had become and therefore decided this week that the ban on crypto trading through official banking services (introduced in 2021) would soon be lifted.

If all those young Nigerians who now only trade crypto via their telephone and anonymously also open an account at one bank or another and transfer their crypto earnings from the last few years, then you can expect a rush. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens, of course

InkDropCreative / Depositphotos.com


Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / [email protected]