Author: Julius Alagbe

XRP Rises as Ripple, Kansas Athletics Enter Sports Marketing Deal XRP climbed 2% to $1.10 on Thursday, closely tracking a modest uptick in the broader crypto market as Ripple entered a multi-year sports marketing partnership. Ripple has entered into a multi-year sports marketing partnership with the University of Kansas Jayhawks athletic teams. Under the agreement, the $XRP brand logo will appear prominently on Jayhawks team jerseys, making Ripple the latest cryptocurrency brand to enter the collegiate sports marketing space. The University of Kansas Jayhawks is one of the most recognisable brands in U.S. collegiate athletics, particularly with a large and loyal fanbase…

Oil Prices Ease as Tensions Shift Demand, Supply Curve Oil prices edged lower in early trading on Thursday after a sharp rally fueled by escalating US-Iran tensions, as investors took profits while continued concerns over potential supply disruptions kept prices supported. Brent crude traded at $77.81 per barrel, down about 0.3% from the previous close of $78.02. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell about 0.2% to $73.33 per barrel from $73.52 in the previous session. Brent surged 8.7% on Wednesday, briefly climbing as high as $80.59 per barrel after US President Donald Trump declared that negotiations with Iran had…

South African Rand Softens Versus Crosses as Brent Rises The South African rand softened against crosses on Thursday as investor demand for the US dollar increased amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. In its morning brief on Thursday, First National Bank (FNB) confirmed that the rand traded weaker as investors favoured the US dollar amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and growing concerns around global inflation. Fresh US strikes against Iranian targets, retaliatory action by Iran and renewed uncertainty surrounding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz supported safe-haven demand for the dollar. At the same time, rising oil…

Global Markets Tainted by Tensions, Wall Street, European Stocks Ease Global equity markets were weighed by renewed tensions between the US and Iran, dragging performance indicators lower amid key selling pressure across sectors. Escalating US-Iran military tensions set the dominant overnight tone after President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire with Iran may be over, driving Brent crude sharply higher and injecting fresh caution across global equity markets. In Wednesday’s session, the S&P 500 fell 0.28%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.09% as geopolitical risk weighed on sentiment, while the Nasdaq edged up 0.20% on resilient technology demand.…

Ethereum Price Rises to $1.754k Ahead of ETF Launch Ethereum (ETH) price increased 1.16% to $1,753.98 on Thursday, closely tracking a broader market gain of 1.38%. The move is primarily driven by anticipation building around the imminent launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, with a key target date of July 15. Final-stage ETF launch preparations, shifting market focus from regulatory debate to imminent fund inflows. Multiple reports confirm asset managers are submitting final registration statements and fee disclosures to the SEC, with a mid-July launch window—specifically July 15—now the market’s focal point. This operational shift from approval speculation to launch mechanics…

Naira Heads South as Interbank FX Turnover, Deal Count Rise The Nigerian local currency, the naira, headed south on Wednesday as a surge in international payments eclipsed US dollar volume availability in the official window. In its daily report, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that the official spot FX rate depreciated to N1379.0675 per US dollar, down from N1375.7463 quoted the previous day. With an exchange rate quote of N1370.1904 at the beginning of the week, the official rate has weakened by N9, increasing companies’ costs of dollar payments for offshore goods and services. FX transactions were consummated…

Airtel Africa Makes History, Market Value Tops N21trn A strong, fast-and-furious re-rating has pushed the market value of Airtel Africa Plc’s 3.758 billion outstanding shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) above N21 trillion. Airtel Africa has seen an absolute gain of about N3.8 trillion over the last seven trading sessions on the Nigerian bourse, and some investment firms have raised their target prices for the telecom stock. This is historic for the market, and the telecom giant has won the title of most valuable company, with a valuation approaching the N22 trillion mark. Trading data showed that the Airtel Africa…

CBN Hikes Interest Rates on Treasury Bills, Allots N1.1trn The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hiked spot rates on Treasury bills at the primary market auction conducted on Wednesday, according to auction results released. The midweek auction conducted by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the monetary authority recorded significant investor subscriptions seeking to position in naira assets. The treasury bill auction bucket included N100 billion in 91-day bills, N100 billion in 182-day bills, and N500 billion in 364-day bills. The auction recorded about N1.6 trillion in aggregate subscriptions as investors continue to chase elevated yields on fixed-income…

XRP price is down 4.35% to $1.07, underperforming a broadly weaker crypto market, primarily driven by a “sell-the-news” reaction to a key regulatory milestone.

The Decade of Gas Initiative says Nigeria’s gas demand is projected to reach about 15 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) per day by 2030.