Central Bank of Nigeria has once again spoken about its plans for Cryptocurrency in Nigeria at a time Bitcoin rose to its highest level in months above $30k.
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On February 5, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a ruling instructing all financial institutions to stop the facilitation of all transactions involving cryptocurrencies. It also goes further asking all the regulated bodies to identify individuals or organizations engaging in cryptocurrency transactions within their system and shut down their accounts with immediate effect. Finally, the circular note that failure to adhere to the directives will attract severe regulatory sanctions on the part of the regulated entity.
Let’s face it, cryptocurrency is a big deal in Nigeria. In the last couple of years, there has been astronomical growth in cryptocurrency trading in the country. Nigeria is Africa’s largest cryptocurrency marketplace and second only to the United States in Bitcoin trading volume in the world. According to data from QZ Africa,
Still, on Binance, other crypto enthusiasts called for calm and urged Nigerians to change their Naira balance to USDT (Tether) stablecoin on the platform in a bid to be careful against CBN prohibited deposits.
Do not deposit naira again on Binance
Immediately swap your naira for USDT if you have naira balance
Do not sell your crypto assets in panic.
It s a global trading system that CANNOT be affected by Nigeria CBN policies.
Decentralized Finance is the future.
You can t stop it!
On the policy side, Nigerians faulted the CBN directive, saying there is no logical reason to prohibit crypto enabled transactions, as the directive appears to contravene the Buhari-led administration’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.