As Bitcoin hits another record high, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to urge Nigerians to embrace the eNaira, Africa’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The Director of Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, made the appeal while speaking at the CBN special day at the Lagos International Trade Fair.
After US inflation data strengthened the notion that bitcoin is a hedge against rising cost pressures, bitcoin hit another record high and is currently waving around the $64,000 range. Due to CBN’s ban on cryptocurrency transactions, Nigeria will not be able to benefit from the booming crypto market.
What the CBN is saying
Nigeria’s Central Bank introduces the eNaira, Africa’s first digital currency, to give a secure option for its citizens and to satisfy their appetite for blockchain technology.
Highlighting the benefits of the digital currency, Osita said, “The e-Naira is expected to deepen financial inclusion by bringing more people into the financial space, support a resilient payment ecosystem, reduce the cost of processing cash, enable direct and transparent welfare intervention to citizens, increase transparency in revenue and tax collections, facilitate diaspora remittances, reduce the cost of financial transactions and improve the efficiency of payments.”
Noting that there have been encouraging responses to the launch of the e-Naira, Osita, said, “Today, customers who download the eNaira Speed Wallet App will be able to onboard and create their wallet; fund their eNaira wallet from their bank account; transfer eNaira from their wallet to another wallet and make payment for purchases at registered merchant locations.
“I, therefore, appeal to Nigerians to embrace the eNaira just like our physical Naira – our pride.”
The apex bank has maintained a strong stand against cryptocurrency, as Nwanisobi once stated in an email, “Our financial system does not have a space for cryptocurrency.”
