The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has in a statement released by Osita Nwanisobi, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications has revealed the intent behind the cryptocurrency ban.
Nwanisobi revealed that the use of cryptocurrency in Nigeria is a direct infringement on the existing laws as they are largely unregulated and unlicensed and were used to fuel a lot of illegal transactions such as the funding of terrorists as well as illicit financial flows.
In addition, the circular also read that the trade and use of cryptocurrency in Nigeria have always been illegal since 2017, therefore the recent circular only served as a reminder to an existing law also that the ban is not exclusive to Nigeria only.
The Corporate Communications Director also suggested that the Central Bank is capable of issuing Digital Currencies and as such, the need to use other unregulated counterparts which are used for less than pristine means.
It is true that Cryptocurrencies are used for illegal trading on the dark web as for a long time, they have remained untraceable until some recent development with backtracing it for some involved in human trafficking.
However, with its recent adoption and the global recession that followed the wake of the pandemic, more and more individuals, even notable ones have come to embrace the reality of Cryptocurrencies.
The Digital currency provided a safe haven for many as the Naira continued to depreciate due to the drop in oil prices cryptocurrency is also a huge attraction to investors due to its volatility and potential for profit as compared to other fiscal counterparts, despite large reports of fraud, many still flock to buy Digitial Coins.
The news was met with a lot of disappointment in Nigeria as it may shut Nigerians, who have until the ban been listed as the highest adopters of cryptocurrency trading, from profiting from Crypto-trading.
Some Cryptocurrency Investors have assured clients that viable alternatives will soon be established that do not violate the existing regulations within the country yet still offer a window of opportunity for willing investors.