Cryptocurrency purchases are becoming more accessible in Nigeria as major crypto wallet MetaMask expands direct transactions with local banks.
On March 21, MetaMask's parent company, ConsenSys, announced a new integration with fintech firm MoonPay, allowing users in Nigeria to purchase cryptocurrencies via instant bank transfers.
The new feature, available in MetaMask mobile and Portfolio DApp, greatly simplifies the process of buying crypto without using a credit or debit card in Nigeria.
Prior to the partnership, MetaMask users in Nigeria had access to a MetaMask wallet, but the process of purchasing crypto was expensive and time-consuming, said MetaMask product manager Lorenzo Santos:
“Although Moonpay has a card integration feature, around 90% of attempts to purchase crypto with a credit or debit card have been rejected.”
With a new integration supporting local bank transfers, crypto purchases on MetaMask are now faster and cheaper, allowing users to access crypto without depositing assets from an exchange. concentrate.
MoonPay's product and strategy director Zeeshan Feroz said that the integration is estimated to reduce the rejection rate of direct crypto purchases in Nigeria from 90% to 30%. He noted that customers of all banks in Nigeria will have access to the service through wire transfer, which is a widely used payment method among Nigerian e-commerce businesses. .
Santos said that despite the current problems with cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, the country has emerged as a major market for MetaMask, ranking third in terms of monthly active users on mobile devices. “It is also one of the top ten countries in terms of the number of visitors to metamask.io in the past month,” he added.
According to the Chainalysis Global Cryptocurrency Acceptance Index 2022, Nigeria is one of the top 20 ranked countries in the world for crypto adoption. Some reports suggest that 35% of the Nigerian population between 18 and 60 years old owns or trades cryptocurrencies by 2022. That is despite the Central Bank of Nigeria banning banks from servicing money exchanges. electronic in February 2021.
In December 2022, local media reported that the Nigerian government was preparing to pass a law recognizing the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to update “ global practice ”.
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