The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently in Lagos said that its digital currency might be launched by the end of 2021.
Rakiya Mohammed, an Information Technology Specialist with CBN, made the disclosure at an online news briefing at the end of Bankers Committee meeting.
According to her, the apex bank has for over two years been exploring the technology and has made tremendous progress.
“Before the end of the year, the Central Bank will be making special announcement and possibly launching a pilot scheme in order to be able to provide this kind of currency to the populace,” she said.
Mohammed said when eventually operational, the currency would complement cash notes.
According to Muhammed, another reason the apex bank plans to come up with digital currency is to make remittances travel easier from abroad to Nigeria.
Mix reactions have trailed an announcement by the Apex bank on the ban of crypto currency transactions, however the central bank has debunked misconception by Nigerian who decried the move.
The rules around cryptocurrencies in Nigeria have become clear as a senior official from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) clarified that digital currencies are not banned in the country.
According to local publication TodayNG, Adamu Lamtek, the Deputy Governor of the monetary regulator, said that the CBN did not ban Nigerians from buying, selling or holding cryptocurrencies but protected the banking sector from the activities of cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, he clarified that the central bank did not place any restrictions on cryptocurrencies in general and is not discouraging people from trading them.
“What we have just done was to prohibit transactions on cryptocurrencies in the banking sector,” the deputy governor said.
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