- By Motunrayo Akintunde
Patricia Technologies has urged the Federal Government on the need to build a Bitcoin reserve, in the same way the country is building reserves in gold and dollar.
Its CEO, Hanu Fejiro Agbodje, said cryptocurrency and other cloud assets would unlock prosperity across the world.
An estimated 33per cent of Nigeria’s population now invests in cryptocurrency, making the country the second only to India in adoption worldwide, according to Chainalysis, a New York-based firm that monitors the use of blockchains, the technological protocol upon which cryptocurrencies are built.
Although forecasts say that Nigeria will experience tough times in 2025, the cryptocurrency industry is primed to hit the skies.
Last year saw a breakout surge of 116 per cent in Bitcoin, riding a wave of enthusiasm for developments such as the approval of Bitcoin’s Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), the halving event in April, and Donald Trump’s win in the United States presidential election in November. But 2025 is set to outperform in other segments of the cryptocurrency market, industry experts say.
In an interview with Channels Television’s Business Incorporated, Agbodje, said the forecast for 2025 is that the Nigerian cryptocurrency would mature. He explained that with Trump’s imminent return to office as United States president in January, there would be a more pro-cryptocurrency world, which Nigeria can benefit off.
He said: “In 2025, I see the market maturing. On a more global scene, with Donald Trump coming back into power, we are going to see a more pro-crypto America, which will in turn lead to a more pro-crypto world, pro-crypto regulations, which would lead to more crypto products. I see the first bitcoin reserve in America being launched. This is very pivotal to how nation states interact with this asset class. Nigeria needs to lead that aspect as well because Nigeria had legislation on crypto just last year, and that was really fantastic.
The Patricia Technologies CEO said there is more expected at the governmental level to boost the industry.
Read Also: BATNF partners Akwa-Ibom to distribute 2,000 chickens, empowering smallholder farmers
He said: “If I want to give one expectation for 2025, on a governmental level, strategic Bitcoin reserve, that is where I want to see Nigeria go. On a retail side, Bitcoin is going to the moon. I foresee bitcoin hitting $180,000 by the end of the year, at a minimum. It’s a bullish year for crypto and it’s going to be a best time to hold crypto as an investor.
“So this year, what we need to do is take it a bit further and set up a bitcoin reserve for Nigeria. Just the same way we have gold reserve, and dollar reserve, we need to now have a Nigerian Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Bitcoin is here to stay, there is going to be a race on what nation gets there first, it gives us the first movers advantage, It is an appreciating asset, it will help safeguard wealth for the future, and most importantly take us closer to financial sovereignty. El Salvador is doing it, some states in America are already doing it as well.”
El Salvador became the first country to use bitcoin as legal tender, after having been adopted by the Central American country’s Legislative Assembly in 2021. The cryptocurrency move was promoted by President Nayib Bukele, and it has improved the economy by making banking easier for the average citizen, and encouraged foreign investment. The policy has also enhanced tourism to the country by 95per cent.
In its August 2024 report that highlighted the growing recognition of the increasing importance of digital assets in the global financial system by nation states, CoinGecko, the world’s largest independent cryptocurrency market data aggregator, stated that governments across the world held a combined 2.2per cent of global Bitcoin supply as at the end of July, 2024, worth a total $32.7billion with the United States, China, United Kingdom, El Salvador, and Ukraine emerging the top five Bitcoin-holding countries.
Following Trump’s election last November, Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 threshold for the first time and gained 51per cent in just a month. Altcoins similarly surged, with ethereum up 59per cent, and other tokens like XRP, solana, and tron also seeing strong gains.
