- BTC, ETH, XRP Dive, Japan Reclassifies Crypto as Financial Assets
- Oyo Govt Approves Over N35bn for Agriculture, Others
- Tantalizers Assures Shareholders of Sustainable Growth
- Naira Rises as Foreign Reserves Approach $52 Billion
- BUA, Insurance, Tech Stocks Drag NGX Indices Lower
- NCC Reviews MVNO Business Rules to Deepen Competition, Expand Telecom Access
- XRP Trades Soft as Ripple Urges Senate to Support Clarity Act
- Solana Slips after SBI Taps Network for Tokenised Japan Equity Fund
Author: Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Naira Sees 1.13% Weekly Gain on FX Liquidity, Interventions The Nigerian local currency, the naira, appreciated against the U.S. dollar, gaining 1.13% in the official market to close at ₦1,343.64. supported by healthy FX liquidity and interventions. At the informal segment of the Nigerian currency market, the naira strengthened to N1370 per dollar, supported by $150k weekly sales at the Central Bank rate. The spot rate fluctuated but stayed positive amidst Apex Bank’s sustained US dollar injections into the official window to keep the local currency stable. In the absence of additional inflows, Nigeria’s foreign reserves declined to $48.70 billion,…
FirstHoldco Gains 23% on Trading Volume, Pre-Q1 Positioning FirstHoldco gained 23% as investors stepped up buying action in the shares of a financial services company ahead of the first quarter of 2026 earnings release. The non-operating holding company of First Bank Limited saw its share price rise to N64 on Friday, as 31.463 million units valued at N1.984 billion were traded on the local bourse. The positive price movement was driven by heavy trading volume, led by buy-side actors, in anticipation of strong earnings performance following recapitalisation. Market value of First Holdco Plc.’s 44.453 billion outstanding shares edged higher by…
BTC/USD: Bitcoin Price Dips on Flight from Speculative Asset Bitcoin price slides to $74,985.58, slightly outpacing the broader crypto market’s 0.99% decline, amid risk-off sentiment triggered by escalating Middle East tensions. The digital asset retreated on geopolitical risk-off sentiment after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a flight from speculative assets. Bitcoin fell alongside traditional risk assets after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on April 19, heightening fears of a broader conflict. This triggered a market-wide sell-off, undermining Bitcoin’s perceived safe-haven narrative for the session. The move was macro-driven, with Bitcoin trading in tight correlation with U.S. equities,…
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) soared by 46% in the Nigerian stock market as investors accumulated the Pan-African financial group units ahead of dividend payments.
NEAR protocol (NEAR) price declined by about 6% to $1.34 over the past 24h, underperforming the broader market amid risk-off sentiment across crypto assets.
XRP Price Dips, Investors Take Profit as Iran Closes Hormuz XRP’s price has declined to $1.43 over the past 24h, from $1.50, amid a risk-off shift in crypto markets following renewed Iran-U.S. geopolitical tensions. Geopolitical risk-off sentiment after Iran reversed its stance on the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a broad crypto selloff. Prices fell after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was again under strict military control, reversing earlier optimism about a ceasefire. This renewed geopolitical tension caused a risk-off move across crypto, with XRP showing a higher beta (down 4.12%) than Bitcoin (down 2.33%). This sector-wide weakness contributed…
TRON Climbs to $0.33 Amidst Major U.S Exchange Listing TRON (TRX) price climbed to $0.330, rising amid a broader market dip, primarily driven by a major U.S. exchange listing that expands compliant market access. TRX has seen significant fluctuations, driven by negative sentiment in the crypto market, until Iran and the US reached a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed again. TRX began trading on the licensed U.S. exchange Binance.US, with TRX/USD and TRX/USDT pairs now active since April 17, driving the altcoin rally versus the broader crypto market. TRON DAO’s spokesperson emphasised that this step…
Bitcoin price retreated by about 3% to $75,682.21 over the past 24h, closely tracking a 2.26% decline in the total crypto market cap. The move appears primarily driven by a broad market pullback amid cooling sentiment, with no single negative catalyst evident in the data provided.
XRP posts 7.5% gain in the last seven trading sessions as geopolitical de-escalation boosts optimism in the cryptocurrency market. Trading data showed that XRP surged while struggling to break resistance, trading around $1.60.
Ethereum (ETH) price inched up by about 3% to $2,403.23 over the past 24h, closely tracking Bitcoin’s 2.53% gain, driven by sustained institutional demand amid spot ETF inflows, ETHgas, and theEther.fi deal.