The Nigeria central bank (CBN) has decided to crackdown on cryptocurrency and has informed all banks and financial institutions to close crypto-related accounts and stop using any kind of crypto platform for payments. It is reported that any entity failing to adhere to rules and regulation will face serious sanctions.
Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, told the media, “In 2017, the CBN raised the alarm and warned that anybody that engaged in cryptocurrency and got his hands burnt would be on his own. The best thing is to regulate it, put it under a rule that will stipulate the number of people that can participate. A lot of people do not understand it, they will just lose money. So, there are two elements, one is to regulate the market, to protect the investors through capital requirement and the other is to prohibit it.
“Cryptocurrency is being used as a store of value and also to use it as a medium of exchange and for trade, so it’s parts of the characteristics of money. It needs to be studied carefully and controlled not prohibited. What CBN should do is to regulate the players and the number of people who can access the service because many people don’t understand the system and they may become vulnerable. This regulation can be in form of stipulated capital requirement or minimum threshold which will discourage some people with bad intention.”
Global banks and financial institutions have been strict towards cryptocurrency in the recent time.