The cryptocurrency hype has reached two of the largest economies in West Africa as they too are planning to have their respective central bank digital currencies. Both nations are said to have teamed up with offshore financial tech firms to achieve their above-mentioned goals.
Nigeria, Ghana central bank digital currencies
As mentioned, Both Nigeria and Ghana’s central banks have partnered with fintech firms to make their CBDC dreams become a reality. The former – which is Africa’s largest economy is reported to officially introduce their digital currency dubbed eNaira on October 1, while Ghana will be conducting trial runs for their so-called e-Cedi this month.
eNaira
Chapel Hill Denham’s Head of Retail Investment Ayodeji Ebo said that Nigerians are investing in cryptocurrency as a means of store value alongside the purpose of carrying their funds outside the shores of the country. He went on to say that eNaira will be used for transactionary purposes.
Nigeria has seen an explosion in cryptocurrency’s popularity albeit the fact that banks within the country are barred in transacting such digital assets. Also, people are looking for ways to at least get away from the weakening naira (Nigeria’s state currency) and offset the country’s high cost of living and unemployment.
The fintech company of Bitt Inc. was chosen by the country for its CBDC launch known as Project Giant after more than three years of research into cryptocurrency.
The Central Bank of Nigeria stated that they will rely on Bitt’s tested and proven digital currency experience, which according to them is already in circulation in some eastern Caribbean countries. Further, the soon-to-be-released eNaira will be issued by the CBN as a legal tender like its physical counterpart and will operate on the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain. As soon as it goes live, it will be following the official exchange rate.
Beginning October 1, folks in Nigeria will be able to download the eNaira app as this will be used to fund their mobile wallets using their existing bank accounts. This is according to CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Despite such endeavor, the Nigerian central bank is still worried about cryptocurrency and stablecoins’ impact on the country since their popularity has surged among their young and tech-savvy populace.
Ghana’s e-Cedi
As for Ghana, they’re collabing with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) which is a German firm that is set to pilot the e-Cedi. Further, it is believed that such a move is just one of the plans to digitize both the country and its government.
G+D will be tasked to give the necessary technology that will be tested on a so-called trial phase with local banks in Ghana, consumers, and others.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.