Nigerians traded at least N316.9bn in bitcoin in 2021 despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions in the nation’s banking system.
Last February, the CBN directed banks in the nation to desist from transacting in and with entities dealing in cryptocurrencies.
It also mandated banks to close the accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions.
The apex bank said, “Further to earlier regulatory directives on the subject, the bank hereby wishes to remind regulated institutions that dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited.
“Accordingly, all DMBs, NBFIs, and OFIs are directed to identify persons and/or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges within their systems and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately.”
After the official restriction on crypto assets in the nation, Peer-to-Peer transactions increased. According to a report by Chainalysis, Nigeria is the sixth leading nation in the world in terms of crypto adoption, because of the resilience of its peer-to-peer monetary systems since the CBN banned the digital asset.
Paxful, one of the biggest P2P platforms in the nation, revealed to our correspondent that Nigerians traded over N316.9bn in BTC volume in 2021.
