CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA VS CRYPTOCURRENCY BLOCKCHAIN

 The Central Bank of Nigeria has instruct banks and other financial institutions to close customers accounts used in trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies transactions. 

The Nigerian bank regulator #CBN ordered deposit money banks, non-bank financial institutions and other financial institutions to identify persons and/or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges within their systems and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately. 

The CBN has been long taken a strict position against cryptocurrencies, which have become a major unit of commerce across the world in recent years.  

In October last year, at the height of the #ENDSARS protests, the bank restricted some financial institutions from receiving or making crypto payments.

The restricted accounts belonged to predominantly young Nigerians who had either sent or received funds to run the #EndSARS protests. When the major fundraisers, Feminist Coalition, were blocked, a bitcoin wallet was set up which donors used to pour in support from across the world.

The CBN was helpless at blocking the inflow due to cryptocurrencies being run on decentralised monetary systems #Blockchain that no conventional regulator or restrictions 

In the past few weeks, trading in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed as the global economy becomes increasingly volatile. Nigerians have started utilising crypto transactions to avoid the numerous challenges faced with traditional money transfer services. 

In 2020, crypto marketplace Paxful reported that Nigeria had the world’s second-largest Bitcoin by trading volume. In the last five years,  Nigerians have traded 60,215 Bitcoins, or more than $566 million USD, it was reported.

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