The CBN has now that it may launch a digital currency by the end of 2021. This was announced by a central bank official. Rakiya Mohammed, an information technology specialist during a recent online news briefing at the end of a Bankers Committee meeting.
“The digital currency would be accessible to all Nigerians. Just like everybody has access to cash, everybody will have access to the central bank’s digital currency. Let me state categorically that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the rest of them are not under the control of the central bank; they are purely private decisions that individuals make.
“We have spent over two years studying this concept of central bank’s digital currency and we have identified the risks. And it is one of the reasons why I said we are setting up a central governance structure that would involve all industry stakeholders to access all the risks as we continue on this journey.
“Very soon we would make an announcement on the date for the launch and by the end of the year we should have the digital currency,” the central bank director added.
Recall that the CBN ordered banks to halt support for cryptocurrency wallets in Nigeria thus making it impossible to buy and sell cryptos. Nigerians had to result to peer to peer trading to perform their cryptocurrency transactions.
