Recently, there was information flying around the internet about cryptocurrency in Nigeria. In fact, it made its way into the Nigeria Twitter trend table for several days – Cryptocurrency was one of the talks on the internet. Several celebrities and influencers talked about it including Presidential Aspirant and former vice president Atiku, one of Nigeria’s A-list Musician, Davido, and Twitter influencer and doctor “Aproko Doctor”.
Davido Twitted on the 3 of February 2021 that he was thinking of starting a Bitcoin trading company. He said
Thinking of starting a Bitcoin trading company … Let’s see ..
Davido
Two days later, CBN (central bank of Nigeria) prohibited regulated institutions from dealing in cryptocurrency or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges.
CBN also posted this on their verified Twitter page. See attached slide below; swipe left for the proof and also the letter they sent to banks.
Also, swipe-left the slides below to see the reactions of others regarding the ban.
One of the presidential aspirants, Adamu Garba stated on his verified Twitter account that CBN didn’t prohibit crypto in Nigeria but only asked Nigerian financial institutions not to take part. He stated two reasons for this.
- It creates scarcity of forex: he said that
“You know the issue with dollarization of Nigerian financial space, crypto activities of Nigerian banks help to further create scarcity of forex,…
Hurting legitimate businesses involving labour practices in favour of people on their screen.
2. It is used for fraudulent activities: he said that middlemen claiming to be in crypto trading are using it to defraud unsuspecting Nigerian citizens.
The acting Director, corporate communication for CBN, Osita Nwanisobi also justify this second point with a question he asked that
“… why will any entity disguise its transactions if they are legal? Based on this opacity, cryptocurrency have become well-suited for conducting many illegal activities including money laundering, terrorism financing, purchase of small weapons and tax evasion.”
Osita nwanisobi
Will this new CBN regulation affect Forex trading in Nigeria
It is a capital NO. It does not in any way affect Forex trade in Nigeria and it will never do.
We asked our consultant and trainer (Frankie Fx Academy) on forex trade about the implication of this regulation to forex trade and he answered us in a precise term. The Academy was so confident about this. Their response goes thus
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“Forex is different from Crypto. In forex (also called Spot Forex), we fund and withdraw in Naira through our normal Bank accounts and not through Bitcoin or any other form of cryptocurrency.
In cryptocurrency, some of the traders don’t have BVN (bank verification number) or any identity. What this means is that they don’t need it to trade in crypto but in forex, your broker knows you. You will need to verify your identity before you open an account. Your bank knows who you are since you have to use your BVN which automatically means that the CBN also knows you and can track your transactions”
These are the words of the CEO of Frankie Fx Academy.
This can as well be proven true because even the CBN and Nigerian banks trade the Forex market.
Frankie Fx academy is devoted to teaching you how to trade the forex market at the comfort of your home. There is no need for a physical meeting because the training is on WhatsApp and it is as simple as ABC. There is a one-week free class for you. Message us on WhatsApp using the icon on your screen to secure a space for the next batch.
Speculations of other reasons for the ban of cryptocurrency in Nigeria
Aside from the reasons by CBN and the presidential aspirant, some professionals also talked about some tangible reasons. One of them is a 33-post thread by Stears Business on their verified Twitter account.
Stears are into Analysis and deep journalism for curious readers who value data on Africa as said in their profile.
For central banks in Africa, the rise of cryptocurrency was a potentially scary movement because they have no control over it… last year, Buycoins estimated that $200 million of bitcoin was traded in Nigeria per month which was more than what was traded in Nigeria Stock Exchange ($131 million) in the second quarter Q2, 2020… The major concern of the CBN is how the US dollars are leaving Nigeria through cryptocurrency because as more Nigerians exchange their Naira for Cryptocurrency, the companies who trade in these coins (e,g Buycoins) need to acquire dollars to buy the cryptocurrencies on the international market. In other words, they are using the dollars in Nigeria to buy crypto in the international market thereby reducing the dollars in Nigeria.
This clampdown will harm not just the startups and Nigerians who trade in crypto, it will also create more worries in investors. Opay is yet to recover from Lagos state’s clampdown on bikes and this is already surfacing again. It is a great discouragement.
Stears
Read the full statement on Stears Twitter account using the link below
Suggested alternative to cryptocurrency
In the heat of the matter, the presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba, said his company is coming up with investment portfolio to replace cryptocurrency named ‘cowtocurrency’
“Our company @IPIGroupNG is coming up with investment portfolio around end-end economic value chain of Cow Ranching business. This will start by early next quarter.
I will keep you posted on this and you will see how #Cowtocurrency yields millions in real returns for stakeholders.”
As posted on his twitter page.
Well, I am not surprised, because there was a time onion was called Nigerian bitcoin because of the cost that time. smiles
My advice for you is to learn the Forex trade. It is a life skill that brings cool money. Fortunately, there is an academy that provides the opportunity for you to learn this anywhere. Click here to get full details about this.
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