E-Financial
Bitcoin Price Surges To $66000 Amid Global IT Outage

The Bitcoin price has quickly recovered from its recent dip to a six-month low of $53,500 on July 5th, reclaiming the $66,000 level and setting its sights on retesting its all-time high of $73,700 reached in March. This resurgence comes as major airlines, medical facilities, corporations, and police forces worldwide grapple with a massive information technology (IT) disruption affecting Microsoft’s cloud computing services.
Bitcoin Price Unaffected By Global IT Outage
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike shed light on the cause of the outages, attributing them to a “routine software update” that went wrong. To reassure the public, CrowdStrike emphasized that the incident was not a security breach or cyberattack.
The company then quickly issued a new software update that automatically repaired some affected computers. However, some systems required manual reboots and patching, resulting in significant delays.
Microsoft, on its part, announced the recovery of its 365 apps and services late Friday morning, though some individual customers may still experience residual impact.
Interestingly, amid the chaos caused by the IT outage, cryptocurrency prices remained unaffected, capturing the attention of US Senator Cynthia Lummis.
Known for her pro-crypto and Bitcoin stance, Senator Lummis took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to highlight the resilience of the Bitcoin price amid widespread cyber outages, stating: “Do you know what form of currency hasn’t been affected by widespread cyber outages? Bitcoin. Vires in Numeris.”
Meanwhile, speculation surrounding Bitcoin’s potential as a strategic reserve asset for the United States has been intensifying.
Anticipation has been further fueled by the upcoming appearance of former US President Donald Trump in Nashville on July 27, who some predict will announce the largest cryptocurrency on the market as a key to the US economy, potentially providing a massive boost to the Bitcoin price.
Sell Signal Emerges
As the Bitcoin price continues its recovery, crypto analyst Ali Martinez has detected a significant development on the Bitcoin daily chart as the TD Sequential indicator has generated a sell signal.
However, the analyst noted that the signal can be invalidated if Bitcoin manages to close above the crucial threshold of $67,500. The cryptocurrency’s current price stands at $66,666, reflecting a 5% increase within the past 24 hours and an impressive surge of over 16% in the past week alone.
Sustaining a close above the level identified by Martinez becomes paramount to avoid a potential correction on its path towards the highly anticipated $70,000 milestone.
While Bitcoin’s upward trajectory is strong, it may encounter resistance at various price levels before reaching its target noted by bearish thresholds at $67,600, $68,380, and $69,700, which could pose challenges to Bitcoin’s price rise.
Conversely, Bitcoin can find support from its 200-day exponential moving average (EMA), currently positioned at $62,600, which represents a long-term trend indicator, often regarded as a robust support level.
E-Financial
UBA Expands to More African Cities, Stamps Footprint in Saudi Arabia

United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced strategic expansion into more African countries even as it plans to open a new office in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant milestone in its mission to connect Africa with key global markets.

Oliver Alawuba, GMD/CEO, UBA group,
This emerged during the Group’s Half Year Business Review held at its global headquarters in Lagos, where Oliver Alawuba, group managing director/CEO, UBA group, met with senior executives overseeing UBA’s 24-country footprint.
The meeting reaffirmed the bank’s pan-African strategy while outlining bold new steps into global markets.
Alawuba highlighted UBA’s continued growth outside Nigeria, with more than 51.7% of Group revenues now generated from its ex-Nigerian operations.
He described the Saudi expansion as a move that positions UBA to support cross-border trade, attract investment flows, and better serve the African diaspora.
“UBA’s vision is clear—we are building a truly global institution anchored in Africa, but serving customers across continents. Our entry into Saudi Arabia signals confidence in new opportunities and commitment to supporting economic connectivity between Africa and the Middle East,” he said.
The Saudi expansion adds to UBA’s international presence, which currently includes the United Kingdom, United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. Alawuba also disclosed that the bank is upgrading its operating licence in France to further strengthen its European operations.
“In Europe, UBA has operations in the United Kingdom and is upgrading its licence in France, expanding its capacity to serve cross-border trade, investment flows, and the African diaspora, complementing our over 40-year presence in New York,” Alawuba noted.
Since launching its pan-African journey with an entry into Ghana in 2004, UBA has expanded rapidly across 20 African countries, establishing itself as a leading driver of financial inclusion, innovation, and regional integration.
E-Financial
Ecobank Plans to Raise $250m Capital Through Private Placement

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated announced its plan to raise up to $250m in Additional Tier 1 capital through a private placement of contingent convertible notes.
In a statement filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited recently, the capital raise was approved by shareholders at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting held in Lomé, Togo. The private placement offer was launched on July 9 and will run for ten days.
“Following the approval of the shareholders at its Extraordinary General Meeting held on May 28, 2025, in Lomé, Togo, to raise up to $250m in additional Tier 1 capital qualifying instruments via a private placement of contingent convertible notes, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated announces the launch of the AT1 effective July 9, 2025, for ten days. Renaissance Capital Africa has been appointed as the transaction adviser to ETI.”
The move is an initiative aimed at strengthening Ecobank’s capital adequacy, enhancing financial resilience, and supporting its long-term growth ambitions across its diversified pan-African banking platform.
Additionally, Madibinet Cisse, Ecobank’s Company Secretary, said, “This proposed capital raise represents a critical step in our efforts to fortify the bank’s financial foundation and support sustainable growth across Africa.”
It would be recalled that Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of the Ecobank Group, has raised an additional $125m through a Eurobond tap, bringing the total size of its 2029 notes to $525m.
E-Financial
EFCC Recovers Funds Lost to CBEX Fraud

Ola Olukoyede, chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has announced that the body has recovered lost funds from the CBEX fraud scheme.
Olukoyede did not announce the amount recovered, but he assured Nigerians that the EFCC is taking action against the promoters of the scheme.
The EFCC Chairman emphasised that the suspects found are facing prosecution.
“We have found a lot of people culpable. Those who promoted that scheme are within our jurisdiction and have been arrested. So, at this moment, they are being prosecuted. And we can also say that money has been recovered, even though the process is still ongoing for us to finally forfeit it,” he said.
Olukoyede also urged Nigerians to exercise caution when investing their resources into online platforms.
“Ponzi schemes remain one of the most pervasive threats facing unsuspecting investors. The CBEX case is a clear example. We all remember the outcry that followed the collapse of the scheme, but these unfortunate situations are preventable. Nigerians must begin to conduct due diligence before committing their resources to such platforms,” Olukoyede said.
He also stressed that the body remains committed to fishing out the culprits and recovering the lost funds.
“It was only when the bubble burst that people wanted EFCC to perform magic and recover their money. In the case we investigated in Lagos, which we dubbed Operation Flush, we arrested a large number of foreigners involved in various cybercrimes, including CBEX. I want Nigerians to know that as of today, we have secured close to 150 convictions. Some of them are already serving their jail terms. And when they are through with that, we are going to send them back to where they came from. So we are monitoring them,” he added.
He urged the public to stay vigilant, assuring them that the body will see the case to the end.
“We are no longer the EFCC that drops cases halfway. Whatever we start, we will finish. Nigerians should trust us and believe in our capacity to do justice. Some of these cases are complex and may require cross-border investigations, but we are up to the task,” he said.
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