The Nigerian government, according to Emefiele, would do everything possible to prevent cryptocurrency from being used to finance illegal activities.
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele voiced optimism that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) will be legal in the country at the 279th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja on Wednesday, according to Business Insider.
Emefiele did not reference a decision by the CBN to lift its February prohibition on institutions purchasing and selling cryptocurrency, but he did say that the bank has been looking at the industry:
“At the CBN, we are dedicated, and I can guarantee everyone that digital currency will flourish even in Nigeria [...] Nigeria is ranked second in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, although it is ranked 27th in the global economy. Our inquiry is still ongoing, and we will make our findings public.”
The Nigerian government, according to Emefiele, would do everything possible to prevent cryptocurrency from being used to finance illegal activities. “We discovered that a significant portion of our workforce is getting interested in cryptocurrency, which is not a good thing. Don't get me wrong: some are authentic, but the vast majority are not,” he remarked.
The banker also expressed concern about the crypto market drop in mid-May, which has been blamed in part on Tesla CEO Elon Musk's decision to stop accepting Bitcoin payments for automobiles and his subsequent BTC criticism:
“We witnessed the market crash. When Elon Musk tweeted at the same time as we indicated our banking and payment facilities were no longer available for cryptocurrency transactions, and he claimed he would invest $1.5 billion, the price rose. He then tweeted a few worries, and the situation quickly deteriorated.”
The CBN did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Cointelegraph.
Nigeria, as previously reported, has emerged as Africa's largest source of Bitcoin trading volume, as well as one of the world's fastest-growing crypto markets, as of August 2020. Nigeria placed second only to the United States in terms of trading volume in December 2020, according to data from Bitcoin P2P marketplace Paxful.
Nigeria's primary currency, the naira, has been dropping in value as Bitcoin has grown in popularity. “Bitcoin has rendered our currency essentially useless or worthless,” Niger East Senatorial District Senator Sani Musa remarked in February. On Thursday, the naira sank 1.2 percent on the black market in response to Emefiele's recent remarks, hitting a three-and-a-half-year low.
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