A trail of circulars from Central Bank of Nigeria and
Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission has thrown the
tech industry in a panic. According to the first circular issued on
5th February, 2021, Nigeria joins the growing list of
countries restricting or ‘banning' financial
institutions from enabling cryptocurrency transactions. A few
others in that list are China, Canada, Egypt and the United
Kingdom. Before its directive premised on the risks of money
laundering, financing for terrorism, illicit inflow and the
speculative and anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies, the CBN had
cautioned investors against trading in cryptocurrency, citing the
largely deregulated crypto market in Nigeria. The CBN has
maintained that virtual coins such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Monero,
Litecoin, and Dogecion are not legal tender in Nigeria, and
financial institutions enabling transactions in such coins do so at
their own risk.
