The Central Bank of Nigeria shuts down crypto traders’ accounts

Nigeria has been on the headlines since its increased activities in the crypto niche and the recent launch of eNaira. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been reportedly ordering all the country’s commercial banks to freeze accounts that have a minimum of two individuals involved in crypto trading.

Peoples Gazette, the Nigerian news outlet, published a report on November 7 saying that J.Y. Mammanand, the director of Banking Supervision, has recently issued a notice to the central bank of the country to shut down the accounts with two or more alleged crypto traders. He also directed the central bank to transfer the funds from such accounts to “suspense accounts.” 

This crackdown is reported under a banking regulator’s larger motive of freezing all the accounts of citizens and companies of the country that are involved in the transaction or operation of cryptocurrency exchanges using the local banks. 

As TheCoinRise reported, the CBN is planning to launch the country’s Federal high court approved central bank digital currency (CBDC), eNaira, to provide a unique form of money dominated in Naira. The government is aiming for a faster, secure, and cheaper option for transactions through its most awaited CBDC.

Nigeria hugely contributes to Africa’s success

In February, the CBN banned commercial banks from providing services to the crypto exchanges in Nigeria. The reasons behind the decision were said to be volatility, terrorist funding, and money laundering. Later, Godwin Emefiel, the governor of CBN, claimed that most of the transactions in crypto were illegal to finance illicit activities. 

Amidst the CBN’s actions, Nigeria has been one of the biggest crypto markets in Africa. It has the second-largest market for peer-to-peer BTC trading. Interestingly, as we reported, Africa has seen a spike in overall retail transaction volume by 1,200% between July 2020 to the end of June 2021.