The price of Bitcoin surged past $45,000 on Tuesday, marking its first climb to such heights since April 2022, kicking off the new year on a strong note for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin saw an impressive 156 percent gain last year, its most robust performance since 2020. Currently trading at $45,318, it’s up by 2.5 percent but still notably below its record peak of $69,000 reached in November 2021.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, experienced a 91 percent surge in 2023 and was up by 1.2 percent on Tuesday, trading at $2,386.50.
Stocks tied to cryptocurrency movements, such as Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital, and CleanSpark, soared by 7 to 10 percent following significant drops in the final trading day of 2023.
Nigeria maintains its status as Africa’s leader in cryptocurrency usage and has made substantial strides in crypto adoption, especially since the recent lifting of the ban on crypto transactions by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This regulatory shift, marked by a December 22, 2023 circular, provides guidelines for banks and financial institutions to engage in activities related to crypto assets, which were previously prohibited since February 2021.
Despite past regulatory constraints, Nigeria’s crypto market has demonstrated remarkable growth, with Chainalysis reporting a 9 percent year-over-year increase in the volume of crypto transactions, reaching $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023.
