Nigeria: The world’s most crypto curious country
By Carine Lee
05:26, 3 August 2022
The crypto winter may be gripping large swathes of the globe but Africa’s most populous country's interest in digital assets continues.
A study revealed that Nigeria ranks the highest as the most cryptocurrency curious nation in the world since the market crash in April.
The African nation topped the list with a total Google search score of 371 for its population having the highest search levels for phrases such as ‘cryptocurrency’, ‘invest in crypto’ and ‘buy crypto’ worldwide.
The Nigerian population search for the Solana (SOL) is the third most worldwide.
SOL to US dollar
The research examines Google Trends data of search terms frequently used by people interested in crypto.
These terms were then combined to give each English-speaking country a ‘total search score’ to identify which countries have been the most interested in crypto since April.
What is your sentiment on SOL/USD?
Nigeria issues crypto rulebook
Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published its "New Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets" signalling that the African nation is trying to find a middle ground between a ban on crypto assets and their unregulated use.
The document states digital asset registration requirements, offerings and custodians, and even classifies the assets as securities regulated by the SEC.
This move is in marked contrast with the US where Ripple, backers of XRP, are locked in a legal tussle with the US SEC over the same issue.
XRP to the US dollar
With the SEC regulating the use of crypto in the nation, it would be good news to Bundle CEO Emmanuel Babalola, whose firm operates in Nigerian and Ghana.
“This new industrial revolution is already here, and the countries that position themselves to support and grow will benefit,”he said In an interview with Capital.com earlier this year.
A major driver of African crypto uptake is the eye-watering cost of sending remittances, which can reach nearly 14%.
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