Africa’s largest country, Nigeria, has finally welcomed its first Bitcoin ATM.
Blockstale BTM, the company that installed the Bitcoin ATM within Dazey Lounge and Bar premises in Lagos state, plans to launch over 30 more terminals across Nigeria.
“Despite all the legal uncertainties about cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, Nigerians happen to be the very best crypto traders in Africa based on volumes of transactions,” Blockstale’s chief executive and founder, Daniel Adekunle, told media on April 1.
Daniel Adekunle developed his Bitcoin ATMs in partnership with a tech firm based in Shenzhen, China.
Despite being home to the largest trade volume in Africa, Nigeria becomes the eighth country within the continent to host a Bitcoin ATM — with Blockstale’s comprising the 15th in Africa.
According to a report by CoinATMRadar, South Africa is home to seven crypto ATMs, Ghana hosts two, and Botswana, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe each have one terminal.
With Nigeria comprising Africa’s largest economy and population, the country’s first Bitcoin ATM could also be a signpost for broader adoption across the continent. Coinstale’s terminal is the second Bitcoin ATM in West Africa.
It is also worth knowing that Nigeria also consistently tops Google searches for ‘Bitcoin’ — driving nearly twice the traffic as that of the second-ranked country, Austria, according to Google Trends.
Source: Cointelegraph