Many Nigerian Bitcoin traders are lamenting their losses because of the continued drop in the market value of Bitcoin.
Since the turn of the year, BTC has lost 52.84% of its market value, wiping off $473.34bn in market capitalisation in the process, and leading to numerous liquidations. At the start of 2022, BTC was $47,686.81 with a market cap of $902.10bn according to CoinMarketCap. On Tuesday, June 14 BTC was $22,487.39 with a market cap of $428.76bn around 5 pm Nigerian time. This drop follows Monday’s drop where BTC fell below $25k. The crypto economy has also fallen from highs of about $2tn to $938.41bn.
Despite Central Bank of Nigeria restriction on cryptocurrencies, a 2021 report by Chainalysis said the nation was the sixth leading nation in the world in terms of crypto adoption. This downturn in the global price of BTC is affecting local traders as they count their losses in millions. Many WhatsApp and Telegram BTC groups are agog with news of loss and liquidation.
One trader disclosed to our correspondent that he had lost about N4m directly. Some suggested that the price might spiral to the $10k benchmark. One trader, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said, “I have been in crypto for a while. “Loses is part of this. On a personal level, and with my firm, we’ve lost about N40m, this is to be conservative. We are big traders. I won’t call it a loss though, because as long as you are still in the market, you will still get your money back. But on a temporary level, if we close our position now, we would be forfeiting nothing less than that amount.
“Crypto coins by nature are volatile, and we are currently in a bear market. But as we know this doesn’t last for long and there will be a bull market very soon. We don’t know when.” According to the trader, prices are falling because of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. He added that the Russian-Ukraine war was also taking its toll on the market.
Recently, residents of the US also had to pay their taxes, and whenever this happens, residents start selling to raise payments. About three or four weeks before the deadline, people start selling, which affects the market since these are heavy investors and their sales affect the market.”
-Punch.