TL;DR Breakdown
- Nigeria CBN governor says cryptocurrencies are illegal in the country.
- Other members of the authorities share his views.
The Central Bank of Nigeria looks set to stick to its stance as regards the crypto ban in Nigeria. The organization’s head, Godwin Emefiele has defended its stance to ban digital assets in Nigeria. He stated that its use is not legal and the ban would be upheld. According to him, the ban is favorable to the average Nigerian. He stated this at his appearance before the Nation’s Senate committee presiding over the ban issue.
Punch, a Nigerian media house, reported that Emefiele stated that crypto is not a legitimate currency. He reiterated that it was not welcome in the nation’s financial system so the transactions of the crypto market should not go through the Nigerian financial system.
Emiefiele, however, stated that the CBN is doing its best to regulate the space in the financial system of the nation.
The Nigerian senate summoned the governor, earlier this month, to defend the nation’s apex bank’s crackdown on the Nigerian crypto market and a way forward that benefits both the nation and its citizens.
Leaders unified in crypto ban Stance
Other regulatory leaders who were at the hearing bent towards the CBN’s stance. The chairman of ICPC, a branch of the anti-corruption regulatory body, Mr. Bolaji Owasanoye, said that the crypto space was linked to kidnap and terrorist activities in the nation. He also claimed that digital assets are untraceable in nature, which is a false statement that informs the public of his ignorance in the world of cryptocurrency. Several blockchain Intelligence firms have the capability to aid law enforcement agencies to trace any illegal activities perpetuated in the digital space.
Companies like CipherTrace and Chainanlysis have helped nations around the world to track criminal activities that use the digital finance market to perpetuate crimes.
The premium price of Bitcoin, due to the ban has steadily risen to a whopping 67% since the advent of the ban, rising from the 36% it was at a week ago.
