Bitcoin Hits All-time High in Argentina, Turkey and Nigeria
27 Oct, 2023 ● Coin news
Bitcoin (BTC) has reached new highs against some of the world's most inflationary fiat currencies.
Using the Argentine peso (ARS), Nigerian naira (NGN), Turkish lira (TRY), Laotian kip (LAK), and Egyptian pound (EGT), the cost of purchasing one Bitcoin reached all-time highs over 30 hours from October 23 to 24.
However, it should be noted that the result is due to ongoing currency depreciation, which has been exacerbated by Bitcoin's recent 16% price increase.
NGN and TRY hit all-time lows against the US dollar on October 24 and 25, respectively, while ARS is only 0.85% off its all-time low (against the US dollar).
The Venezuelan bolivar currently has the highest annual inflation rate at 360%, followed by the Zimbabwean dollar (314%), Sudanese pound (256%), and ARS (122%), according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
IMF data indicates that the Turkish lira and the Nigerian naira ranked sixth and fifteenth, with annual inflation rates of 51% and 25%, respectively.
Crypto analysts have long viewed digital assets, such as Bitcoin and stablecoins, as a hedge against rising inflation; the latest figures may support that view.
According to a Chainalysis report released on September 12, Nigeria, Turkey, and Argentina have the world's second, 12th, and 15th highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption, respectively.
However, these countries' governments have not always converged with the cryptocurrency industry.
After its central bank banned local banks from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges in February 2021, Nigeria is finally becoming more welcoming to cryptocurrencies.
Nigeria announced its intention to pass a bill recognizing cryptocurrencies as "capital for investment" in December 2022, citing the need to keep up with "global practices" as one of the main reasons for its shift in stance.
Despite having some of the most crypto-curious citizens, Turkey's central bank banned cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in April 2021.
Over the last few years, it has also been working on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to digitalize the Turkish lira.
Meanwhile, the outcome of Argentina's presidential election in November could have an impact on the country's inflation crisis, with presidential candidate Javier Milei set to face competitor Sergi Massa in a final run-off vote on Nov. 19.
Massa, Argentina's current economy minister, wants the country to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) "as soon as possible" to "solve" the country's long-running inflation crisis.
He has also stated his desire to keep the US dollar out of the hands of Argentinians, stating that Argentinians should instead be "patriots" and defend the Argentine Peso.
Milei, on the other hand, favors the adoption of the US dollar as well as the abolition of Argentina's central bank.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-all-time-highs-across-argentina-nigeria-turkey
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PCPIPCH@WEO/WEOWORLD/VEN
