CBN affirms crypto ban as e-Naira set to launch in October

The Nigerian apex bank reiterated it earlier stands against banks facilitating crypto transactions as e-Naira is set to launch in October.

Nigeria’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed this at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday, 27th July 2021.

Recall that in a circular dated 5th February 2021 and distributed to Nigerian-based financial institutions, Nigeria’s central bank warned and reminded stakeholders in the Nigerian financial ecosystem against having any transactions in crypto or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.

In addition, the CBN ordered the financial institutions to immediately close the accounts of such persons or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges.

To justify such a directive, the Apex bank had earlier issued a statement insisting that these digital assets issued by unregulated and unlicensed entities beg the question of legality.

The CBN also claimed that crypto assets have also been used to finance several illegal activities including money laundering and terrorism.

Godwin Emefiele also confirmed the launch of its digital currency (e-Naira) pilot program set to begin in October. He also spoke on the importance of eNaira in Africa’s largest economy that included cross-border trade facilitation, financial inclusion, monetary policy effectiveness, improved payment efficiency, revenue tax collection, remittance improvement, and targeted social intervention.

The e-Naira will be operated on the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain.

The blockchain network is an open-source platform built by the Linus foundation specifically for enterprise-grade applications.

This further means the Nigerian Central Bank can override or approve transactions because it has control of its infrastructure, unlike the pioneer crypto asset, where transactions are approved upon the agreement of majority nodes.