Access Bank launches partnership with American Express to expand the acceptance of cards in Nigeria

Bittle is relentless about empowering people through a reliable bitcoin to naira business.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated Nigeria’s grim reality into a state of near-bleakness. In the wake of the pandemic, unemployment hit an all-time high of 27% with many businesses laying off their staff, sending them back to an already overcrowded labor market. What this means is that the percentage of the country’s population that is productively engaged is not enough to drive the economy.

Prior to the pandemic, Nigeria has been a country struggling with dual reality. A country blessed with so many mineral resources yet one of the poorest in the world. More than a dozen Nigerians are among the world’s richest, including the famous Aliko Dangote, who happens to be the richest black man alive. Yet, more than two-thirds of the population live on less than a dollar per day. Nigeria is truly two sides of a coin, two worlds in one.

Amidst this chaos and economic calamity enters bitcoin; the first and most successful cryptocurrency created in 2010 by Satoshi Nakamoto. From undeniable facts, Bitcoin is helping thousands of Nigerians to overcome poverty and attain financial freedom despite the scourge of a dwindling economy. The fast-spreading adoption of bitcoin in the past five years by Nigerians is predicated on the consistent devaluation faced by naira and the staggering economy of the country. Because of this, it was an easy decision for Nigerians who are risk-inclined to stake their investment on bitcoin, leading to mass adoption that keeps growing with every tick of the clock.

This explosive growth, if spelled out in numbers, means the following:

• Annual growth of 19% in the number of bitcoins traded in Nigeria.
• Since 2015, over 60,000 Bitcoin has been traded in Nigeria with a total worth of $566m
• Over N12 billion worth of bitcoin is traded every day in Nigeria which led to the birth of the bitcoin exchange business: an industry with a market value of $350 million in 2020.

These facts and more are why Bittle was created; to empower enterprising Nigerians with simple and accessible cryptocurrency solutions using the concept of ‘shared prosperity’ Unlike other cryptocurrency exchange, Bittle is driven by a passion to help people own a bitcoin to naira exchange without stress, cash or experience.

“The bitcoin exchange business in Nigeria is a big and growing market (current market value of about $560m). At Bittle, our mission is to help anyone take their share of this bitcoin cake. Therefore, we made Bittle so simple and accessible so that anyone without prior experience of cryptocurrency can own a bitcoin to naira business and make lots of money. With the negative effect of the pandemic on people’s income, anyone who needs a side business to support his earnings will find Bittle a perfect choice,” Ejovwoke, the CEO of Bittle explained.

The traction Bittle has had in less than one year of commencement is a testament to its mission. With a current merchant base of 3,000 members and an average weekly payout of $10,000, Bittle is leading the way with an empathy-driven business model that makes people beneficiaries of their “shared prosperity” mantra. Ejovwoke gave more insight on the purpose that drives this intentional stand.

“When you do transactions with other exchanges, you get nothing in return. Some even delay payments coupled with bad customer service. However, Bittle is changing the game. We are relentless about solving the problem of poverty and helping people to become financially empowered through a reliable bitcoin to naira business they can even start for free. We believe in the concept of ‘shared prosperity’ because we are a human-first company. We operate from a position of abundance and our desire is to see every human with an enterprising spirit take their share of the bitcoin prosperity.”

Ejovwoke Enakirerhi gave us a peep into what it was like moving into uncharted waters of the cryptocurrency market when the pandemic hit, and the company lost a major share of its businesses.

“Looking back to March 2020 when the lockdown was announced, it was really a bleak period in the history of our company. The lockdown met us unprepared, but despite this, I and my team pulled ourselves together. After some days of research and brainstorming, we came up with Bittle as our flagship product in the cryptocurrency market. The energy the team brought to bear was insane. We pushed the MVP out and in less than 4 months, we had over 1,000 merchants monthly transactions of about $300,000. Currently, we have over 3,000 merchants and an average weekly payout of $10,000 to our merchants. Our goal is to increase this to $100,000 in the year 2021.”