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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Tuesday, insisted that African countries must jettison Western Liberal democracy for African-style democracy, insisting that only this would stop politicians from winning elections by “hook or crook”.
Obasanjo said the adoption of Western liberal democracy gave room for electoral malpractice and encouraged politicians to win elections by “hook or crook” with the judiciary being incapacitated.
The former President spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun state, at an event organised to mark his 87th birthday.
Obasanjo at the event launched the Olusegun Obasanjo Leadership Institute (OOLI), an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) and his new book titled: “The Art of Leading: Unconventional Wisdom from Biblical”.
The event was attended by former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Catholic bishop of Sokoto, Mathew Kukah, governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang (Plateau) and Douye Diri (Bayelsa); former President of Ghana, John Mahama and former governor Osun state Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
Obasanjo who argued that Western democracy is not relevant to our culture and history, said Africa needs to adopt a form of democracy that is “sufficiently African in content” that will recognise African culture and history.
“We have inherited liberal democracy from the West because they are the ones who colonised us and they only gave us what they had.
“Now, I believe that when we are able to have democracy that is African in content, sufficiently African in content, in culture and in history and in practice, the sort of thing that happened in Plateau state recently will not happen because the idea of ‘well, we will win by hook or by crook, you go to court, there will not be the question of going to court because you won’t have to win by hook or by crook, you will have to settle it the way we settle things in Africa before liberal democracy’.
“Let me say two or three things about this liberal democracy, they (West) have something they called loyal opposition. I have researched African languages for the meaning of opposition, the meaning in almost all African languages is enemy, how do you have a loyal enemy?
“So what they have given to us does not make sense in the African context, African way we have consensus, we sit under the tree and we iron it out and we then decide okay, this is the way it will go, there is no opposition, but they (West), they have loyal opposition because they came out of monarchy and you can be loyal to the monarchy.
“We are rethinking liberal democracy because if it is relevant to their culture and their history, what they have given us is not relevant to our culture and to our history”, Obasanjo said.
The former President also stressed the need for recruiting “selfless and transformational” leaders to take over the mantle of leadership from those he described as “transactional” leaders.
He said: “Leadership is preeminent in anything we do and if leadership is preeminent in anything we do, how do we recruit, how do we train, how do we nurture leaders in all works of life? Leaders that will be transformational instead of transactional, leaders that will be servant leaders, sacrificial.
“In addition to writing a book and talking about it, can it be taught, can leadership be taught? Can we look at where leadership had worked I believe that for me we cannot go farther than in the Bible.
“But, also if it can be taught, what do we need to teach, what do we need to inculcate, what do we need to make people absorb leadership tenets, leadership principles and factors that will make us move fast and move far together and that is what OOLI is about”.
In his remarks, former President Goodluck Jonathan lamented that democracy in Nigeria is faced with a lot of challenges such as greed in leadership, tribalism, nepotism, social vices, access to justice, human rights issues and quality of elections.
The former President of Ghana, John Mahama called on African leaders to practise all-inclusive democracy which according to him allows for the views of the opposition.
Mahama said, “Most African countries hold elections regularly now. You will find out that one leader will take one step forward, one leader may take one step or two steps backwards and even another leader will keep us standing still.
“Effective leadership is therefore important and it is one that continues to make progress even in the face of challenges.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has intercepted 21 food trucks heading to neighbouring countries.
Announcing the seizure in a statement on its X handle on Tuesday, the anti-graft agency said the items were heading towards N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central African Republic, and Cameroon.
The seizure was made by operatives of the EFCC Maiduguri Zonal Command, it said.
“The trucks were intercepted in a sting operation at major exit routes along Kalabiri/Gamboru Ngala and Bama roads, Borno State,” the statement read.
“Investigation showed food items cleverly concealed in the trucks that would have gone undetected but for the eagle-eyed vigilance of operatives of the Commission.
“Further checks showed that the Waybills covering the goods carried by trucks indicated their destinations as N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central Africa Republic, and Cameroon respectively.
The commission stated that the arrest of the trucks is expected to stem the tide of food insecurity occasioned by unscrupulous antics of smugglers across the country.
Noting that the arrested suspects are being profiled, the agency vowed to charge them to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
The seizure is coming on the heels of the rising cost of food items in Nigeria. With inflation reaching 29.90 percent, the cost of living has reached the rooftops, prompting pockets of protests in several parts of the country.
The official exchange rate of the naira against the dollar ended its three-day winning streak, falling by 4.26% to N1602.43 per US dollar on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, compared to N1534.19/$1, according to data published by FMDQ.
This decline coincides with the announcement from the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance that it will cease trading activities involving the Nigerian currency.
The drop on Tuesday marks the first in three days, indicating that demand pressures persist in the forex market as supply remains insufficient.
FX Rates across markets
According to data from the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), where forex is officially traded, the domestic currency depreciated by 4.26% at the end of trading, closing at N1,602.43 to a dollar at the close of business.
- This represents a loss of N68.24 compared to the N1,534.19 closing on Monday.
- The intraday high was N1,652.40/$1, while the intraday low was N1,450/$1, representing a spread of N202.40/$1.
- According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of trading was $291.78 million, representing a 63.26% increase compared to the previous day.
- Forex turnover has averaged over $200 million in the past week as trading continues to pick up in the official market.
Meanwhile, on the parallel market, the Naira depreciated against the dollar as it was quoted for N1,630/$1, reflecting 1.84% compared to the previous day’s quote of N1,600.
- The Great British Pound (GBP) depreciated by 7.32% to close at £1/N2050 as against £1/N1,900 the previous day.
- Additionally, the Naira weakened against the Euro by 0.57%, trading at N1750/EUR1 compared to N1740/EUR1 reported the previous day.
At above N1,600/$1, the exchange rate between the naira and dollar is down by 43% in 2024 and remains one of the worst currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is despite several policy measures introduced by the apex bank to resolve the forex crisis.
Officials close to the central bank have often cited the activities of cryptocurrency traders as a major contributory factor to the exchange rate depreciation. Critics of this government stand will point to the depreciation of the naira as further evidence that the naira is inherently weak with or without the activities of cryptocurrency traders.
[Nairametrics]
The Federal Inland Revenue Service, on Tuesday, kicked against the imposition of additional taxes and levies on business owners to raise money for funding the Child’s Online Access Protection Bill.
The FIRS Chairman, Mr Zacch Adedeji, represented by Mr Mathew Osanekwu, made this known when he appeared before the House Committee on Justice in Abuja on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the committee is holding a public hearing on a bill to provide for the Child Online Access Protection Bill 2023.
This bill also included other issues of online violence against Nigerian children and related matters.
Adedeji said the FIRS had already been given a target, and instead of levelling additional burden through taxation to fund the bill to become an Act, it should be funded through appropriation.
“The impression we have is that the funding will be through a levy. We already have eight different levies, and I advised that the funding should come by way of appropriation,” Adedeji said.
He added that this became necessary since FIRS was charged with collecting revenue for the government.
Speaking in support of the bill, he said: “Our position is that FIRS fully supports the bill, and its intention is a great initiative.
“We have to adopt global best practices; we observed that funding to make it happen is also in the bill, and in this, we have raised issues,” he said.
The Deputy Director, Legal, Nigeria Communication Commission, Abang Abua, who represented the commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the commission was concerned about the method of funding in the form of taxation.
“We are concerned about tax because our operators are already inundated with taxes,” he said.
He said the commission had been very active in child online protection and had deployed child line protection protocol.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Legal, National Human Rights Commission, Ms Pwadumoi Okoh, who represented the chairman, said the bill was a proactive step to ensure the rights of children were protected.
She, however, said the NHRC had observed some errors in the bill and submitted its inputs to the House.
“We suggest that the committee should explore some other relevant Nigerian laws instead of duplicating efforts in agencies where such laws exist.
“We should look at other Acts of the agencies of government that have similar mandates so as not to have interagency rivalry.”
Usman Kumoh (APC-Gombe), who represented the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said the House would continue to protect the rights of the child.
“We will continue to protect the interests of the children on a moral and legal basis. All hands must be on deck to protect children from being harmed.
“Nigeria cannot live in isolation in the digital world, and our children must not be exposed to the dangers of the internet,” he said.
He said the bill must be done collaboratively between parents, and service providers.
This, according to him, ensures that children are protected and adults will not be able to take advantage of their rights.
He said the bill was not targeted at taxing anybody, adding that what the House was demanding was to take part of the existing money to fund the bill.
The Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Olumide Osoba, said the bill was straightforward, adding that it was meant to ensure that service providers safeguarded the Internet for children.
Osoba said the FIRS should be more interested in protecting the Nigerian child than in tax collection.
NAN reports that other stakeholders that appeared at the committee sitting included the Ministry of Women Affairs and the Data Protection Agency, among others.
[Punch]
Bitcoin traded at $69,191, surpassing its previous record of $68,991, reported in November 2021.
However, shortly after the price surge to the record high, the cryptocurrency declined to $64,941.37 as of the time of filing this report.
The cryptocurrency has been on a bullish run, recording a 14.63 percent rise in the last seven days, and a significant surge of over 191.03 percent in the last year.
Similarly, some major altcoins are rising steadily in the last 24 hours, with Ethereum climbing 3.17 percent to $3,673.12, while Solana rose by 5.46 percent to $134.94.
The crypto market capitalisation has increased by 54.10 percent to $222.06 billion within a day.
According to reports, the record is buoyed by the largest cryptocurrency becoming more accessible for trade as supplies tighten.
Meanwhile, the development comes amid the federal government’s clampdown on the crypto exchange over regulatory contraventions in Nigeria.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, on February 21, 2024, said Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms should be banned from operating in the country.
Also on February 27, 2024, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN, said $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria from unidentified sources in one year.
Cardoso said the apex bank is collaborating with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to ensure there is no manipulation in the FX market.
On March 1, 2024, the federal government reportedly demanded at least $10 billion as a settlement from Binance for profiting from “its illegal transactions” in Nigeria — days after two top executives of the crypto platform were detained.
Following the restraint on its operations in the country, on Tuesday, Binance Nigeria announced plans to cease all naira transactions, from March 8, 2024.
[TheCable]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced the restoration of visa services for Nigerians, confirming that they can now visit the country again.
The restoration of visa services was announced in a joint statement by the federal government of Nigeria and the UAE titled “Resumption of Visa Services for Nigerians Travelling to the UAE, ” dated March 4, 2024.
The statement noted that the achievement follows the discussions between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.
The Statement disclosed that the commencement of visa issuance, which resumed on March 4, 2024, is a milestone, reflecting the successful outcome of in-depth talks between the two nations and underscoring, “Our shared commitment to strengthening ties, enhancing cultural exchanges and fostering opportunities for economic and social collaborations.”
To ensure a seamless and efficient visa application experience, the UAE has introduced an enhanced document verification process.
Starting from March 4, 2024, all Nigerian applicants for UAE visas are required to first obtain a document verification number. This essential step according to the UAE is to be completed by visiting the dedicated online Document Verification Hub platform https/documentverificationhub.com).
The UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Saleem Saeed Al-Shamsi, highlighted the importance of this updated procedure.
After obtaining the Document Verification Number, applicants can proceed with their visa applications through designated travel agents, after which the process will be completed at the Embassy of the UAE in Abuja or Lagos.
The announcement, the UAE said signifies, “our ongoing efforts to enhance the strong ties between the UAE and Nigeria, contributing to the prosperity and well-being of our people.”
Naija News recalls the UAE had in 2022, banned about 20 countries including Nigeria from travelling to Dubai, leading to a diplomatic row between the two nations.
However, President Tinubu in 2023, visited the country and engaged in diplomatic talks with the country’s leaders.
An unidentified mother of three little children has reportedly committed suicide in Enugu state.
It was gathered that the woman allegedly ran into a moving vehicle and died instantly, following her husband’s departure from her and their three children due to financial difficulties.
It was further gathered that the incident happened last weekend in front of Ogui Police Station, Enugu.
According to reports, the deceased whose identity is not known yet was reportedly suffering from depression. She dropped her three young children at the police station, pulled her clothes, and ran naked into a moving vehicle which crushed her to death.
When interrogated, the eldest of the children said their father “got lost.”
“She could not give any other information about their family, their town, or residential address”, a police source told the Nation
Meanwhile, the wife of Enugu State governor, Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, has announced sponsorship of a scholarship for the three siblings (under seven years) who lost their parents in mysterious ways.
The governor’s wife announced the scholarship when she paid an unscheduled visit to Ogui Police Station Enugu, where the children were kept in police custody.
Mrs Mbah, who was touched by the pathetic story surrounding the death of the mother of the children, said she would take care of the children and train them from Nursery school to University level.
[VIDEO] Yankee no know star o”; I regret relocating abroad – Femi Brainard opens up on being Uber driver
Admin![Why I regret relocating abroad – Femi Brainard opens up on being Uber driver [VIDEO]](https://www.withinnigeria.com/entertainment/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/03/photo-output-29-750x375.jpeg)
Nigerian film actor Femi Brainard has opened up about life while living abroad. The thespian granted an interview with Teju Oyelakin, aka, Teju Babyface on his podcast.
Speaking on the perks as well as the disadvantages attached to relocating abroad, especially being a celebrity, Femi Brainard said it is better to be celebrated and be a prince in Nigeria than to move abroad and be a nobody. He also noted that his wife does not love it at all.
While speaking with the comedian, Brainard noted that anytime he is driving, his Nigerian passengers in particular can’t help but stare at him in disbelief and wonder if he is the star they know.
The actor added that the curious ones would approach him to be sure he was the famous actor they knew in Nigeria.
Femi Brainard said the bills are a lot and he has things like rent to think about. The actor who celebrated his 10th wedding anniversary in May of 2023 explained that he was so broke to an extent once that he went to the parking lot and burst into tears
Media
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that over 40 million telephone lines barred because owners failed to link their SIM cards with their National Identification Number (NIN) will soon be unable to make calls.
According to the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, on Tuesday, if the affected lines are not acted upon in the next 180 days, they won’t be able to receive calls but will only be able to text and make calls. But after the stipulated days, they will also be barred from making calls.
He added that if no action is taken to rectify the SIM’s status within 365 days, the owners will lose such lines completely to the service providers.
According to him, the phone lines blocked by telecommunications companies have exceeded the deadline of February 28, 2024, set by the regulatory body requiring telecom customers to connect their SIM cards to their National Identification Numbers (NIN).
He said, “If the barred lines are not acted upon in the next 180 days, they won’t be able to receive calls but will only be able to text and make calls. But after the stipulated days, they would be barred from making calls too. And might forfeit their lines to their respective service provider within 365 days.”
Crypto trading platform, Binance, has advised Nigerians trading on its exchange to withdraw all their NGN assets as it discontinues services in the country.
This comes amidst ongoing rancour with the Nigerian government over Binance operations in the country.
The crypto platform is being accused of manipulating the country’s currency leading to its steady fall against other currencies. Some of its executives are also currently being detained by the Nigerian government.
The company said it would no longer accept Naira deposit from today, March 5, adding that Nigerians now have until March 8 to withdraw their assets. Binance said any asset not withdrawn by that date would be converted to USDT.
Although the Nigerian government has blocked access to the Binance website weeks ago, the company in a statement released on Tuesday and published on its website, said:
“Fellow Binancians, Binance will discontinue all Nigerian Naira (NGN) services as per the timeline below.
“Users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto prior to the discontinuation of these NGN services.
“From 2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC), any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT based on the conversion rate below.
“Binance will not support deposits of NGN after 2024-03-05 14:00 (UTC).
“Withdrawals of NGN will not be supported after 2024-03-08 06:00 (UTC).
“After 2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC), Binance will convert any remaining NGN balances in users’ Spot and Funding wallets into USDT on behalf of users at a ratio of 1 USDT = 1,515.13 NGN.
“Please note that the conversion rate is calculated based on the average closing price of the USDT/NGN trading pair on Binance Spot in the last seven days.
“The conversion may take approximately up to 24 hours or longer. USDT tokens will be credited to users’ Spot wallets thereafter, and users can confirm receipt of the tokens via the Convert History page.
“If users hold less than 0.00000001 USDT worth of NGN in their Spot and Funding wallets, they will each receive 0.00000001 USDT in their Spot wallets after the conversion.”
Binance said it would delist all existing NGN spot trading pairs (i.e., BTC/NGN and USDT/NGN) at 2024-03-07 03:00 (UTC).
All open spot orders with respect to the above trading pairs will automatically be closed when trading ceases in the relevant trading pair.
“Users should ensure they have not selected “Hide Small Balances” in all of their wallets to view their assets after trading ceases,” it added.
The company it would also convert will delist NGN and all corresponding pairs at 2024-03-07 02:00 (UTC), while Binance P2P delisted all NGN trading pairs at 2024-02-28 15:00 (UTC).
“Binance Auto-Invest will delist NGN after 2024-03-06 03:00 (UTC). Users may choose to remove the plan(s) beforehand. Otherwise, the next recurring cycle of the aforementioned token(s) will fail,” it added.
Binance said it would remove NGN from the list of supported payment options on Binance Pay at 2024-03-06 03:00 (UTC).
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Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, has rebuked the suspected hoodlums who looted a warehouse in Gwagwa-Tasha on Sunday, saying their action was a sheer criminal act that was not in anyway motivated by hunger.
She said this yesterday at the end of an assessment visit to Gwagwa-Tasha to ascertain the level of damage to the warehouse where the palliatives for the six area councils were stored.
She also vowed that going forward, the FCT administration will now establish police posts in all government-owned warehouses to protect them from looters.
The minister decried the brazen stealing of all the grains and other food stuffs, including the roofs and fence of the storage facility.
She expressed outrage at the attitude of the youths within area, assuring that the administration would now establish a police post in all government warehouses across the territory to deter the recurrence of such act.
“We are here due to the unfortunate incident that happened early hours of yesterday, (Sunday) where hoodlums attacked this very warehouse and packed everything that was here, including the fence.
“Not only the food items that were here, including the roofing, windows, and even the gates of this place and offices were all attacked. You can see the level of damage. There is nothing that is left here, including machineries that are used for the processing of these things.
“As you have heard, people around, the youth of the environment or the community are suspected to have instigated this incident. So, this is a very sad event. And we are not happy about it,” Mahmoud said.
She also vowed that the administration would prosecute those behind the ugly incident, noting that the unfortunate incident occurred when the administration was restocking its warehouse with a view to meeting up with the directive of President Bola Tinubu to distribute palliatives to all the six area councils in FCT.
She said: “We did distribution about twice. And then about to do the third one, where these trucks were here to offload these food items, and then they were attacked, they even injured some people on duty.
“This is really a bad situation. And it is not something that the administration will take lightly. All those that are involved must be brought to book. We have to do something.
“And also, this is a sign that we need to reinforce the security situation around all our warehouses, because you just have to keep food.
“But the way this thing happened actually is beyond hunger. This is a criminal act. Somebody that is hungry cannot move out to remove all the roofing that is here. All the doors, all the windows, and also the gates.
“This is not showing that we are good ambassadors of the nation. So definitely we are going to take action about this event that has happened.”
However, she warned that the incident may slow down the distribution of palliatives in the territory, saying the administration may have to reconstruct the warehouse, all the offices, including the gates that were damaged.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a further decrease in the exchange rate used to calculate import duties at seaports.
This reduction comes after a period of relative stability in the exchange rate between the Naira and US Dollar.
As of Monday, March 4, the new rate for calculating customs duties is N1,544.081 per US Dollar. This represents a 5.3% decrease compared to the previous rate of N1,630.159 per US Dollar used on Friday, March 2. In simpler terms, importers will now pay N86.078 less per dollar when clearing their goods through the ports.
This change reflects the CBN’s ongoing efforts to ensure that customs duties accurately reflect the prevailing exchange rate. By adjusting the rate downward, the CBN aims to ease the pressure on businesses importing goods into Nigeria. The expectation is that this will lead to a more predictable and stable environment for international trade.
On February 23, the CBN issued a circular in response to concerns from importers regarding fluctuating import duty assessments by the Nigeria Customs Service.
Key points from the CBN circular include acknowledging market volatility and price distortions due to the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, addressing importers’ concerns about uncertainties caused by fluctuating exchange rates affecting duty calculations, and advising the Nigeria Customs Service to use the closing FX rate on the date of opening Form M for imports as the fixed rate for duty assessment. This fixed rate will remain valid until the completion of import and clearance of goods.
These measures, along with the reduced customs duty rate and clarified import duty assessment process, aim to bring stability and transparency to the import environment. This is expected to benefit businesses, consumers, and the overall Nigerian economy.
Importers and businesses involved in international trade should keep themselves updated with the latest information from the CBN to accurately calculate duties and avoid potential delays or issues when clearing goods through customs.
The widow of the late former governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has knocked her husband’s niece, Funke Akeredolu Aruna, for supporting the incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, ahead of the governorship election in the state.
In a post on her Instagram page on Monday morning, Betty described Funke as shameless, adding that time will tell if she is “truly lucky”.
The late governor’s wife wrote, “Behold the face of Aketi’s niece, Funke Akeredolu Aruna, the former deputy chief protocol to Aketi, shamelessly parades as ‘I am lucky’ Bloody serpent! Time will tell if she is truly lucky.”
Lucky Aiyedatiwa was sworn in as the Governor of Ondo State on December 27, 2023, following the death of his former boss, Akeredolu, who died of prostate cancer in Germany at the age of 67.
National Daily reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed April 16, 2024, for the governorship primary, while the main election will be held in November.
[NationalDaily]
Bitcoin surpassed $65,300 on Monday morning, bringing it one step closer to its all-time high of $69K, which was reached in November 2021.
The cryptocurrency asset increased by more than 6% in the last day. Historical gains associated with Bitcoin’s halving event, euphoric sentiment, and institutional buying demand are positioning the asset to surpass its lifetime highs of $69,000 in March.
The crypto markets have had a very bullish influence since the beginning of February. Every day, the volume has been surpassing, demonstrating the extensive participation of market players.
Given that the price of bitcoin is currently settling into a very small range, it is anticipated that the token will soon mirror a prior price movement.
Investors are pricing the direct impact on the supply side of the Bitcoin economy that will result from the impending halving of the crypto asset, which will reduce daily BTC issuance from 900 to 450.
To successfully navigate this landscape, traders must comprehend the implications of this event in the larger market context, considering other significant factors like Bitcoin ETFs. Interest in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has surged recently, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) leading the way.
At a pivotal point in the institutional adoption of cryptocurrency, the fund broke records by becoming a member of the $10 billion assets under management (AUM) club in a record-breaking seven weeks.
The swift amassing of assets reflects a wider pattern of institutional investors’ growing desire for Bitcoin as they look for ways to gain exposure to the crypto space through conventional investment vehicles.
Vital insights for managing market volatility both before and after market halving are provided by tools such as Glassnode’s data and analytics.
According to the most recent price movement, Bitcoin appears to be preparing for yet another significant breakout and has formally entered a bull market.
Some reports state that OTC desk balances are almost at zero, suggesting that big institutions might begin to accumulate once more. Profit-taking activity has drastically decreased in comparison to the 2021 bull run, which may be another reason to be bullish on Bitcoin.
The record-high open interest in Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is another important indicator of a potentially overheated market (CME).
According to CoinGlass, open interest in CME Bitcoin has increased to an all-time high of $8.66 billion. Together, these elements suggest that there is a strong bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin, but investors should exercise caution.
[Nairametrics]