Nigerian Central Bank Says Its Ban on Crypto Accounts Is Nothing New

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly frozen bank accounts belonging to four fintech firms for up to 180 days after a Federal High Court in Abuja acceded to an “ex parte motion.” The ex parte motion, which is a form of temporary suspension, was granted after a Nigerian chief, Micheal Kaase Aondoakaa, filed the motion on behalf of CBN governor Godwin Emefiele. Accounts Frozen to Enable Further Investigation According to one report, this temporary freeze of the bank accounts will enable the CBN to institute further investigations into the activities of the four firms.....

A Nigerian Federal Court judge recently ruled that the two frozen bank accounts belonging to Rise Vest Technologies, which is accused of trading cryptocurrencies, must be reopened. CBN’s Bank Account Freeze Order Dismissed In a ruling that overturns the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s August 17 decision to freeze the bank accounts, Judge Taiwo Taiwo is quoted by The Nation insisting that the central bank could not simply rely on a mere circular when deciding to close an account. In addition, the news outlet quotes the judge explaining in his ruling that the CBN’s....

Apathetic Nigerian lenders are frustrating the e-naira’s adoption because they are worried this could deprive them of a key revenue source, Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, has said. Emefiele said the central bank is working on a channel that would enable Nigerians without bank accounts to open e-naira wallets. E-Naira Undercuts Lenders’ Investment in Mobile Banking Infrastructure The Nigerian central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, has reportedly slammed some lenders he accuses of thwarting the adoption of the e-naira digital currency in the....

Nigerian blockchain and cryptocurrency experts have suggested that many prospective users will only consider adopting the e-naira once the central bank has done enough to make the CBDC (central bank digital currency) an attractive option to use. E-Naira Still Unattractive to Users Some Nigerian experts have expressed doubts about claims by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that many residents in the country of more than 200 million inhabitants are interested in or switching to the recently launched central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-naira. The experts argue the e-naira, which was....

Nigerian artists are now increasing their net worth by leveraging the art world’s lucrative pivot to non-fungible tokens (NFT). According to reports, this move to NFTs is happening despite the Nigerian central bank’s renewed anti-crypto stance. NFT Bubble Concerns As a recent CNN report explains, growing interest in NFTs from Nigerian artists comes alongside warnings of a potential downturn in sales. For instance, Bitcoin.com News has already reported that NFTs sales plummeted by 90% since the market’s record sales on May 3. The same report also revealed that the number....