Criticisms have followed the directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibiting commercial banks and all non-banking financial institutions from transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
The CBN on Friday also ordered financial institutions to close the accounts of customers with cryptocurrency transactions immediately.
According to the apex bank, digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, and others are largely used in terrorism financing and money laundering, considering the anonymity of virtual transactions.
Reacting to the directive, Senator Shehu Sani tweeted: “Why the ban on Cryptocurrency? Why are we running backwards?”
Activist Segun Awosanya alias Segalink described the CBN’s move as ill-advised, saying, “This is yet another developing horror story in our dying society. The govt via @cenbank is now shutting down cryptocurrency in a desperate move to block any ray of hope for the huge youth demographic they have largely failed. This won’t end well. This is ill-advised.”
Senator Ben Murray-Bruce also tweeted: “I thought it’s universal knowledge that decisions or policy regarding finance or economy should never be hasty? #crypto.”
Disk jockey DJ Switch who is on exile over her role in the #EndSARS protest in 2020 also expressed displeasure over the move.
“If the ban on crypto by CBN is true ehn, it points yet again to the ill informed, backward, poverty promoting dinosaurs T-Rex leading us. Use your time ⌚ to investigate and close accounts sponsoring terrorists in the country if you don’t know what to do!!!” she said.
In December 2020, Quartz Africa reported that Nigeria was number two in the global bitcoin market after trading 60,215 bitcoins in the last five years.
