Less than 14 days after the apex bank directed some domestic banks to close the accounts of suspected crypto traders, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has again stated that trading of Cryptocurrencies in Nigeria is illegal. He further stated that the Nigerian banking system has no room for crypto trading.
Why it matters?
In February 2021, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, banned transaction of currencies in the country. In its defense, the CBN Governor said that banning of crypto trading had nothing to do with #EndSars protest and more to do with the secrecy with which crypto trading takes place.
He said, “Look at it this way: what is there to hide? Why are the transactions so hidden? Why are they encrypted? If I conduct a transaction and a regulator or security authority wants to see the
nature of the transaction, those (transactions) can’t be encrypted for people to know what happened. It means that cryptocurrency is a product that is embedded in high level of illegality.”
