The Nigerian Naira has depreciated by over 60% against the US Dollar in the past year. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the third richest man in Mexico, recently stated that the Naira is now worth less than a satoshi and urged people to buy Bitcoin as a hedge against the devaluation of the currency.
The Nigerian government has taken a series of measures to stabilize the exchange rate as the Naira has become the worst-performing currency against the US Dollar. It has also accused Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and other major exchanges of manipulating the exchange rate, leading to a sharp depreciation of the Naira. As a result, these exchanges have been banned.
However, these measures have not been effective, and the Naira continues to decline against the US Dollar. According to data from Google Finance, the Naira has plummeted by over 32% to 0.00075/USD so far this year, and its depreciation over the past year has exceeded 60%.
The continuous depreciation of the Naira is related to the shortage of foreign exchange in the country. Nigeria is one of the largest oil-producing countries in Africa, but its refining capacity is limited, which means that most of its energy products rely on imports, leading to a significant outflow of US Dollars.
Danelee Masia, a senior economist specializing in the South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa region at Deutsche Bank, previously stated that due to concerns about reserves decreasing, international investors’ demand for the Naira has weakened, causing the Naira’s appreciation to stagnate. The Naira is easily affected by the seasonal demand for US Dollars, and it is expected to further decline when the seasonal demand peaks in the third and fourth quarters.
Amidst the continuous depreciation of the Naira, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the founder of Salinas Group with a net worth of over $14 billion, recently tweeted that the Naira is now worth less than a satoshi and advised buying Bitcoin as a hedge against the devaluation of the currency. When asked about his recommendations for buying ETFs, stocks, and cryptocurrencies, he specifically mentioned Bitcoin, demonstrating his confidence and trust in this cryptocurrency.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego is known for his anti-government stance and has supported Bitcoin-related policies in Mexico. In 2021, he praised Bitcoin for its extraordinary characteristics and called it the gold of the modern world. His bank, Banco Azteca, became the first bank in Mexico to accept Bitcoin.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego revealed in 2022 that 60% of his liquid investment portfolio is allocated to Bitcoin, while the remaining 40% is invested in hard assets such as oil, natural gas, and gold. He praised Bitcoin as a wise investment choice and criticized bonds as the worst investment among all assets.
According to Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Bitcoin should be present in every investor’s portfolio. He criticized fiat currency as “fraud” and expressed skepticism towards Dogecoin, stating that those who hold Dogecoin will “remain poor.”