Naira: Concerns Over Fresh Threat From Crypto Traders

The Naira appears to be up against a fresh threat from two crypto exchange platforms, just six weeks after the clamp down on Binance operations in Nigeria.

The national currency had slumped badly in the forex market in the weeks preceding the clamp down on Binance, exchanging for as much as N1,950 in mid-February.

But soon afterwards, the Naira started to recover and was at a time N1,200 until the middle of last week when it lost some grounds to the dollar again.

Observers blamed its earlier misfortune on alleged manipulation of the market by Binance and are citing the new crypto exchange platforms BYBIT and BITGET as the cause of the latest slip.

But Vice President Kashim Shettima declared yesterday in Abuja that the Naira would continue its upward mobility against the dollar.

An investigation by The Nation also showed that many speculators who had invested in the dollar in the hope that the naira would go further down are now counting their losses.

On Monday last week, the Naira was N1,100 to a dollar at the black market. It depreciated to N1,148 by Tuesday and N1,169 on Friday. Observers believe this is on account of the operations of the peer to peer platforms and say government must step in to stop the naira slide.

Following the recent recovery of the naira, the global investment banking, securities and investment management firm Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. rated it one of the best performing currencies around the globe.

The firm had initially predicted a naira to dollar exchange rate of 1,200 by year-end 2024 but later said the Nigerian currency could exchange for 1000 to a dollar or even below provided the authorities are able to maintain the tempo of their economic reforms.

This bullish forecast, it said, followed capital inflows and interest rate adjustments, aiding the naira recovery from substantial losses incurred due to two devaluations since June, following the government’s relaxation of currency controls.

But Vice President Shettima is optimistic that the naira is on course to regain its status as a currency to reckon with.

“The naira went haywire and some people were celebrating. But inwardly, we were laughing at them because we knew that we have the leadership to reverse the trend,” the VP’s spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, quoted him as telling his visitors.

He added: “Asiwaju knows the game, and truly the naira is gaining and the difference will drop further.”

Shettima said government’s decision to end fuel subsidy and unify the multiple exchange rate was necessary to address the challenges facing the country.

On efforts to boost the power sector and generate jobs for youths, he said: “We are determined to ensure that we generate jobs for our youths.

April 21, 2024