The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a statement reiterating that cryptocurrencies are not a legal tender and as such are illegal. This is the strongest against cryptocurrencies made this year from the CBN.
In a circular dated February 28th, 2018 and published on its website, the apex bank reiterated that “cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Onecoin, etc and Exchanges such as NairaEx are not licensed or regulated by the CBN.”
The press release is against the backdrop of Nigeria being among the top 3 countries with the most cryptocurrency trade around the world. Nigerians have caught on with Cryptocurrencies in recent times going as far as mining and even launching their own initial coin offerings.
Nairaex is a top Cryptocurrency exchange in Nigeria and is the number one market place for trading bitcoins in Nigeria.
Cryptocurrencies backed by blockchain technology was the best performing asset classes in the world last year posting gains northwards of 1000%. See the press release below;
Further to the circular issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on January 12, 2017, to Banks and other financial institutions on virtual currency operations in Nigeria, the Bank wishes to reiterate that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Onecoin, etc and Exchanges such as NairaEx are not licensed or regulated by the CBN.
For the avoidance of doubt, dealers and investors in any kind of crypto currency in Nigeria are not protected by law. Virtual currencies are traded in exchange platforms that are unregulated, all over the world. Consumers may therefore lose their money without any legal redress in the event these exchangers collapse or close business.
Members of the public are hereby warned that virtual currencies are not legal tender in Nigeria. Accordingly, we wish to caution all and sundry on the risks inherent in such activities.
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