Nigeria’s central bank barred crypto transactions in Nigeria’s financial sector no more than a year ago. Even if the central bank has been battling against crypto transactions in its financial ecosystem, crypto transactions are increasing in Africa’s biggest crypto market.
Nigeria’s peer-to-peer transactions climbed by 16 percent on an annual basis, as per the reports by coindance. Nigeria’s P2P volumes on two major P2P platforms (Paxful and Localbitcoins) currently stand at $400 million, Kenya with more than $160 million and South Africa with $117 million.
While many would expect that the restriction would limit the growth of crypto trading in the country, the number of P2P transactions has been stealthily on the rise. P2P systems allow buyers and sellers to sell with one other, eliminating any central platform directly. It is widely utilized in nations where crypto trading isn’t authorized.
The population of Nigeria and other African nations are particularly eager about crypto, as evidenced by the high adoption rate.
Nigerian government deviates to CBDC
After recognizing that the crypto prohibition did not deter residents from carrying out transactions, the Nigerian government announced its e-Naira central bank digital currency (CBDC) program in late October last year.
This makes the African country one of the earliest governments to accept a national digital currency. The e-Naira wallet saw over 500,000 within the first three weeks of its inception, and since then, the authorities have reported that the transaction volume on the program has been outstanding.
eNaira is a digital currency issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria. eNaira serves as both an instrument of exchange and a store of value, giving improved payment prospects in retail transactions compared to cash payments.
Are the governments headed in the wrong direction?
The latter succeeds if you compare the ratio of countries that side with crypto and those against it. Even though some countries like El Salvador accepted crypto as mainstream, some countries are still skeptical. Many countries are worried that cryptocurrencies will affect their financial stability. It’s high time that the higher officials in every country educate themselves about blockchain and crypto and how they can change and develop a country.