In February, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibited banks from servicing crypto exchanges in the country, citing worries about volatility, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
According to reports, Nigeria’s Central Bank has directed all commercial banks to freeze the accounts of at least two persons engaged in cryptocurrency trading.
According to a Sunday report by Nigerian news outlet Peoples Gazette, the CBN’s head of banking supervision, J.Y. Mammanand, issued a notice ordering the central bank to cancel the accounts of two alleged cryptocurrency traders and transfer their funds to “suspense accounts.” Mammanand cited a February CBN circular as justification for the account closures.
According to reports, the action is part of a broader effort by banking regulators to promptly shut accounts held by Nigerian people or businesses “transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges” through local banks. In February, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibited banks from servicing crypto exchanges in the country, citing worries about volatility, money laundering, and terrorism financing. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Godwin Emefiel later claimed that the majority of cryptocurrency transactions conducted through commercial banks in the country were “illegitimate” — that is, used to finance illicit activities.
Regardless of the central bank’s activities, Nigeria’s crypto market has grown to become one of the largest in Africa, with the continent’s total retail transaction volume increasing by more than 1,200 percent between July 2020 and June 2021. According to Cointelegraph, the country has the second-largest market for peer-to-peer bitcoin (BTC) trading in August.
Additionally, the CBN is planning to launch the country’s digital currency, the eNaira, following permission from the Nigerian Federal High Court in October. The eNaira is being advertised as a speedier, more affordable, and more secure method of doing financial transactions, but will apparently coexist with Nigeria’s fiat currency.
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