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- CBN announces ban on all banks from facilitating any kinds of services related to cryptocurrencies
- The announcement left the political class divided in terms of ethnic and geopolitical lines
- Nigeria’s SEC put a hold on its plans to regulate the digital currencies
The Central Bank of Nigeria banned all banks from facilitating any kinds of services related to cryptocurrencies. Thus, these banks can no longer provide these services to crypto exchanges in the country. The transition echoes the Indian counterpart’s actions of 2018.
Mixed response to the Central bank’s ban
People are still not able to accept the respective decision. The announcement left the political class divided in terms of ethnic and geopolitical lines. The more progressive units are asking for a refined approach from the apex bank.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a ban. They released an official warning to the banks and financial institutions in the nation. The warning emphasized the idea that cryptocurrencies are still not legal tender in the country. However, after the central bank decided to ban cryptos, Nigeria’s SEC declared that it will be putting all plans to regulate the digital currencies on hold.
Once the CBN blocked foreign remittances in Naira, crypto acquisition accomplished a stronger ground in Nigeria. Cryptocurrencies allowed tech-savvy Nigerians to access forex, specifically fiat-pegged stablecoins.
CBN’s official statement
As per CBN’s statement, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation registered several complaints with the CBN regarding the harmful activities of scammers related to cryptocurrencies.
The CBN explained further that criminal enterprises are misusing the crypto services. It stated that many investors and banks are now put off from cryptocurrencies because of the damaging effects it brings along. Digital currency is widely put into use for illegal activities and that is disappointing.
There exist multiple instances of criminal activities related to cryptocurrencies. However, the magnitude of these activities is not important when we compare it to the whole matrix of global crypto transactions.
The CBN ban, while still in its initial days, is likely to do something to change Nigeria’s developed hyper-bitcoinization culture. Nigeria is gradually becoming a headquarter for crypto adoption.
To highlight the same, the Google Trends data reflects that the country is on the lead in terms of search engagement for Bitcoin from all over the world. Nigerians are choosing this shift to cryptocurrencies as this is the best way to protect their wealth in the current scenario.
However, with banks already allegedly closing accounts associated with crypto services. Thus, the customers in the country are appreciating peer-to-peer channels now.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
