CBN Governor Emefiele Gives Shocking Verdict on Cryptocurrency
-
Despite the cryptocurrency market booming and adoption by some top companies, the CBN has tightened its regulation against the digital assets
-
Godwin Emefiele has defended the ban on crypto by claiming that is used for illegal activities and should not be tolerated
-
Emefiele argued that he is yet to see a government adopt cryptocurrency as legal cash and investors don’t want to be associated with it
The Central Bank of Nigeria has explained its ban on cryptocurrency by claiming that the digital assets are “embedded in illegality”.
“Look at it this way: what is there to hide? Why are the transactions so hidden? Why are they encrypted? If I conduct a transaction and a regulator or security authority wants to see the nature of the transaction, those (transactions) can’t be encrypted for people to know what happened. It means that cryptocurrency is a product that is embedded in a high level of illegality.“
During an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele expressed his disapproval.
Emefiele confirmed the CBN’s directive to commercial banks to close the account of anyone found to be trading the digital assets.
Earlier in February this year, the CBN issued a ban on Bitcoin and other crypto assets, forcing financial institutions from processing crypto transactions.
The CBN governor also debunked claims that the ban was a result of the government’s reservations about Bitcoin after it was used to gather donations during last year’s #Endsars protest.
He said:
“#EndSARS has nothing to do with it. It so happened that some people used their cryptocurrency to fund it but it has nothing to do with it.”
Read also: Nigeria’s Bitcoin P2P Trading Volume Drops By 43% as CBN Cracks Down on Crypto
Emefiele rounded it up by saying that he is yet to see governments in developed countries supporting cryptocurrency.
Follow Naija.fm on our social media handles Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep up with trending news, breaking news, entertainment news, and hot gist.
