The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Sunday said the bank did not ban trading in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rather it was reiterating an already imposed 2017 ban on institutions facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.
But the market appears to not be waiting for assurances and has moved on since the apex bank gave its directive in February. Buying and selling of bitcoin in Nigeria now happens mostly on exchanges or platforms with peer-to-peer (P2P) services. Even customers on other platforms that are yet to provide P2P are having to move their crypto assets to those that have.
But peer-to-peer is not a cakewalk. Unlike the traditional exchanges where buying is perfected in a few steps without necessarily speaking with the other party and there reduces the chance of being scammed, P2P if done with the wrong person increases the risk of losing funds.
To be sure, a peer-to-peer transaction is a situation where two users connect directly to each other to trade cryptocurrency. In return for bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, a user might make a bank transfer directly to the other user, or pay that person with cash. Apart from exchanges, there are black markets that are not regulated where people can meet each other and transact without a third party.
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However, exchanges are recommended by experts as the best platforms to carry out P2P trading of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Customers using exchanges also need to be careful about the type of exchange they are using.
There are several exchanges that provide buying of bitcoin in the local currency naira. Binance is arguably the biggest and perhaps the most liquid of the exchanges. Hence, it has more advantages for first-time buyers.
Buying bitcoin on Binance first time
To start trading on the platform, you must have an account. You will also need to complete a level 2 identity verification also known as Know Your Customer (KYC). This enables the platform to create and maintain a high level of security for your investment and protect your account on the market.
One advantage of the Binance P2P is the ability it gives the user to trade wherever and whenever they want.
To begin, you will need to open the Binance mobile app and click the ‘Buy with Cash’ option then select P2P.
The next step is to choose the Buy tab and select BTC. Click the filter icon at the top right of your screen. Select the bank payment method and the NGN currency to buy the crypto. Then tap on confirm.
After confirming this choose the offer that works best for you and enter the quantity you want to buy. Again select a payment method, and click on Buy BTC. You can then transfer the money directly to the seller based on the seller’s payment information provided within the payment time limit. You can either use the chat box to communicate with the seller or call directly to confirm.
Always ensure that you send the money to the seller and tap on Transfer next. Only tap confirm if you have indeed made the transactions otherwise you will be violating the P2P User Transaction Policy of Binance. Once you confirm, the status changes to ‘To be released’ meaning the transaction is almost complete once the seller confirms and the bitcoin is released to you.
