Singapore-headquartered Bitcoin exchange BitX, which already has offices in Cape Town and Jakarta, has launched operations in Nigeria.
BitX provides a bitcoin wallet, an exchange, merchant integration and APIs to businesses and consumers across the world. It has built up a sizeable presence in Southeast Asia and Africa.
The launch will allow Nigerians to buy or sell bitcoin instantly using Nigerian naira for the first time through the mobile BitX Wallet on iOS and Android. They will also be able to trade bitcoin, and use the BitX API to develop their own bitcoin products. BitX CEO Marcus Swanepoel said:
“We are very excited to launch a broad suite of bitcoin products and services to the Nigerian market, all with the view of making it easier for Nigerian consumers and businesses to buy, sell, store and transact in bitcoin.”
BitX has the highest overall bitcoin trading volumes in Africa, with its products and services already well-established in Kenya and South Africa. The addition of the Nigerian operations, according to the company, gives it a wider geographic reach than any other company operating on the continent.
The company was attracted to Nigeria because it is a fast-growing and highly entrepreneurial economy. It has also been “inundated” with requests for its services from consumers, developers and businesses. BitX is also currently working with a number of businesses to bring new products to the market.
Nigeria has lagged in the adoption of bitcoin due to the lack of infrastructure for it in the region, but BitX said its launch would give Nigerians access to the same products and services available to other bitcoin users around the world.