Cryptocurrency
Nigerian banks allegedly close accounts dealing with Crypto
A number of bank accounts directly linked with crypto trading have reportedly been closed by Nigerian banks.

Published
3 weeks agoon

A significant number of Nigerians linked to crypto trading have allegedly had their bank accounts closed by their respective banks.
This is in lieu of Nigeria’s apex bank directive prohibiting banks and other financial institutions from dealing in crypto-related transactions. The CBN clearly instructed banks to adhere to the directive with immediate effect which has probably led to why such bank accounts were immediately shut down.
According to a text message seen by Nairametrics, a customer affected was told by his bank that in line with the CBN directive on cryptocurrency operation in Nigeria, the individual account was henceforth inactive.
The Chief Executive Officer of Bitfxt Technologies, Franklin Peters also revealed that the business accounts of Bitfxt Technologies, were allegedly closed and its funds wiped off.
READ: Why the CBN wielded the big stick on cryptocurrency transactions
So our cooperate accounts have been wiped and closed by our host bank. This is really not the way forward #Nigeria.
SMH
— Franklin Peters (Blockchain Oracle) (@F_Peterz) February 10, 2021
In case you missed it
- Recall, in a circular dated 5th February 2021 and distributed to regulated financial firms, the apex bank of Africa’s largest economy warned and reminded local financial institutions against having any transactions in crypto or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.
- In addition, the apex bank instructed the financial institutions to immediately close the accounts of such persons or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges.
- The Apex bank further warned the Nigerian Financial Stakeholders that any breach of this directive will attract serious regulatory sanctions.
- The CBN released a press statement further justifying its position to the general public and clearly stating that cryptos are issued by unregulated and unlicensed entities which begs the question of legality. It also claimed that cryptocurrencies have been used to finance several illegal activities including terrorism and money laundering.
READ: Nigeria’s cryptocurrency ban: A legal analysis
Can the Nigerian apex bank actually stop trading?
The Nigerian central bank has control over the banking sector and by a large extent can use its powers to determine how banks allow customers to use their bank accounts for transactions.
- While cryptocurrencies are a digital form of currency, it still relies heavily on the regular currencies for everything from pricing its value to how its ownership is being determined.
- To buy cryptocurrencies, you can no longer pay with cash via using your Nigerian bank account.
- Thus, Nigerians looking to trade in cryptocurrency will now have to seek other means outside of the banking sector, assuming Nigerian banks strictly implement the new directives.
READ: Why Nigerians trade in crypto, $500m worth of bitcoin traded in 5 years by Nigerians -Moghalu
What this means
Such a directive from the CBN will have clear negative consequences for the international Crypto community, taking into consideration Nigerian financial ecosystem will remain closed to the Crypto network. This will thereby dampen its use among a growing number of Nigerians who solely depend on their local currency to process their crypto transactions.
Olumide Adesina is a France-born Nigerian. He is a Certified Investment Trader, with more than 15 years of working expertise in Investment trading. Follow Olumide on Twitter @tokunboadesina. He is a Member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society.


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Cryptocurrency
Unknown whale moves $342 million worth of Bitcoin
an unknown BTC whale moved 7,215 BTC (342,066,420 USD) transferred from an Unknown wallet to an unknown wallet

Published
17 mins agoon
March 3, 2021
A significant number of wealthy investors have increased their transactional volume lately in Bitcoin’s market amid rising price volatility in the ever-changing crypto-verse.
Data obtained from Whale Alert, a crypto analytic tracker, revealed that an unknown BTC whale transferred 7,215 BTC (342,066,420 USD) from an unknown wallet to another unknown wallet, some hours ago.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 7,215 #BTC (342,066,420 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to unknown wallet
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) March 2, 2021
Active crypto-traders and powerful investors seem to now be using the flagship crypto asset of late as a form of treasury asset. Though it’s often challenging to anticipate market movements in the ever-changing crypto market, Bitcoin whales have shown historically that they often determine the BTC trend.
At the time of writing this report, the flagship crypto traded at $47,834.54 USD with a daily trading volume of $47 billion. Bitcoin is down 1.81% for the day.
However, it’s important to note that the market liquidity is tightening at the flagship crypto market, as there are less than 4 million BTCs in circulation available for upcoming investors including the likes of Grayscale, Paypal, and hedge funds.
Recent reports reveal that MicroStrategy Inc. recently bought more Bitcoin to raise the enterprise-software firm’s holdings to more than $4.3 billion.
- It’s critical to note that just 21 million Bitcoins are ever going to be produced in total, and presently, there are about 18.9 million Bitcoins in circulation.
- This shows a differential of about 2.1 million Bitcoins left to be produced, not forgetting about 4.5 million Bitcoin that have already been lost forever.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoins dash up strongly amid high buying spree
Bitcoin traded at $48,715.70 with a daily trading volume of $54.8 billion. Bitcoin is up 6.05% for the day.

Published
21 hours agoon
March 2, 2021
The price of bitcoin and saw strong gains amid high buying pressures particularly from wealthy investors, as the entire market capitalization surged by 5.62% at the time this report was written.
Bitcoin traded at $48,715.70 with a daily trading volume of $54.8 billion. Bitcoin is up 6.05% for the day.
This is coming on macros suggesting the daily Bitcoin Spent Output Profit Ratio has seen a full reset and turned negative for the first time in five months – investors were on average moving BTC at a slight loss, indicating profit-taking has abated.
In an exclusive interview with Nairametrics, Louis Schoeman, a Snr. Forex analyst at Forexsuggest, a Luxembourg-based currency analytic firm explained the rationality behind Bitcoin’s recent surge.
READ: About 33% of pension funds, hedge funds now own digital assets such as Bitcoin
“A bitcoin market correction has definitely been made in the last 7 days. According to our analysis, the reason for the price rise again is that hedge funds are starting to invest more aggressively in bitcoin,” Schoeman said.
In addition a leading global bank, Citi had recently suggested the flagship crypto-asset could “become the currency of choice for international trade,” thanks to its “decentralized design, lack of foreign exchange exposure, fast (and potentially cheaper) money movements, secure payment channels, and traceability.”
Crypto experts also argue that such strong demand in the Bitcoin market is largely attributed to the fact institutions are coming.
The market liquidity is tightening at the flagship Crypto market, as there are less than 4 million BTCs in circulation available for upcoming investors including the likes of Grayscale, Paypal, Microstrategy, hedge funds, MicroStrategy Inc.’s Michael Saylor purchased more Bitcoin to raise the enterprise-software company’s holdings to more than $4 billion.
READ: British hedge fund earns £540 million from selling half of its Bitcoin holdings
Recent reports reveal that MicroStrategy Inc. recently bought more Bitcoin to raise the enterprise-software firm’s holdings to more than $4.3 billion.
It’s critical to note that just 21 million Bitcoins are ever going to be produced in total, and presently, there is about 18.9 million Bitcoin in circulation.
This shows a differential of about 2.1 million Bitcoin that are left to be produced, not forgetting about 4.5 million Bitcoins that have already been lost forever.
This also means that liquidity is drying up, with a growing demand for Bitcoin increasing, the price would most likely stay north.
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Anonymous
February 14, 2021 at 1:47 pm
The Nigerian Central Bank got it all wrong. If we were to close every good thing that has a bad side, then we should close Aso Rock, close the senate and all the political paraphernalia that they have been using to loot our Nigerian treasury abroad over the years. What they ought yo do is to find a water tight way of regulating the crypto system do that the Nigerian economy can gain from the huge inflow of finds and our teeming jobless youths who are very techno savvy can find a legal means of making a living from crypto trading. Period.