Nigeria To Launch Digital Currency Soon – CBN

The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has stated that digital currencies will be launched in the country soon.

He disclosed this during the 279th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja.

According to Emefiele, “We are committed in the CBN and I can assure everybody that digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria.”

This revelation by the CBN is similar to the trend in developed nations in the world. The central banks of China, South Korea, the United States, and a host of other countries are in the process of launching their own digital currencies also.

Raising concerns about cryptocurrencies, Emefiele said, “We have carried out our investigation and we found out that a substantial percentage of our people are getting involved in cryptocurrency which is not the best. Don’t get me wrong, some may be legitimate but most are illegitimate.

“Under cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, Nigeria comes second while in the global side of the economy, Nigeria comes 27th. We are still conducting our investigation and we will make our data available.”

Concerning cryptocurrencies, the CBN had earlier said, “First, in light of the fact that they are issued by unregulated and unlicensed entities, their use in Nigeria goes against the key mandates of the CBN, as enshrined in the CBN Act (2007), as the issuer of legal tender in Nigeria.

“In effect, the use of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria is a direct contravention of existing law. It is also important to highlight that there is a critical difference between a Central Bank issued digital currency and cryptocurrencies. As the names imply.

“While Central Banks can issue digital currencies, cryptocurrencies are issued by unknown and unregulated entities.”

At the time, the CBN had said it was not comfortable with cryptocurrencies and would keep on educating Nigerians to desist from their use.