Digital payments is one of the fastest-growing trends in the world of finance and technology, and we are seeing more and more people gain access to digital payments, as companies look to implement these solutions for their customers. One of the biggest developments of this has been that more people have access now to financial services. Smartphones are abundant and ubiquitous now, while high-speed internet plans are getting cheaper and cheaper, which means that it has never been easier to be connected to the internet, no matter where you are. Thus, many people, especially in low-income countries, are connected to the internet through mobiles rather than laptops or desktop computers, which means that it is much easier for them to use digital wallets and payment apps, rather than traditional banking services, which are still quite patchy in most of these countries, and therefore do not have the reach that digital payments can provide. One of the best examples of this is in Nigeria, where Trove has become the country’s first micro-investment platform, and has now significantly increased its appeal by adding cryptocurrencies as well.
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Cryptocurrencies have been all the rage over the last 12 months or so, all over the world. The price of Bitcoin has gone on a stunning rally during this time, which has brought a lot more interest into the crypto space, with other crypto tokens also increasing in price significantly. The interesting part is that investors and businesses are now looking at crypto as having solutions to long-standing problems, rather than just an investment that can make money quickly. Thus, we have seen various sectors, from shipping to gaming, music streaming to healthcare, and more, look into using blockchain and cryptocurrencies to try and find solutions to their issues.
Digital finance is another space where this has occurred, as is online gambling. Various online gambling platforms have begun to offer customers the option of making deposits in the form of cryptocurrencies. Thus, players can play dogecoin roulette and other casino table games by using cryptocurrencies, while the games themselves are also being created on the blockchain network, making them more secure and safer to use for players. In the same vein, we have seen that Trove users will now be able to use the platform to buy and sell most major cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Tron and Dash directly on the Trove app. This is in addition to the platform’s existing options to purchase local and foreign stocks, bonds and ETFs, making Trove a one-stop destination for Nigerians looking to invest in financial markets.
This is likely to lead to greater adoption of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria as well, even though the market was already quite popular in the country. According to a report from December 2020, Nigeria had become the second-largest market for Bitcoin in the world, which shows just how popular cryptocurrency trading already is in Nigeria. At the moment, users will be able to place market and limit orders for buying and selling cryptocurrencies on the platform, much like they can do for other assets, while the CEO of Trove, Oluwatomi Solanke, has said that specific features relating to the crypto market will be released in the near future as well.
Given that Trove is Nigeria’s first micro-investing platform, which allows users to trade and invest with as low as 1,000 naira for domestic stocks and bonds, and $10 for foreign stocks, this move is sure to bring even more people into the crypto market in Nigeria – mainly those who had felt that they did not have the capital to invest in those assets.
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