Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) a issued circular directing commercial banks in the country to shut down the bank accounts of some persons and a company who were recently caught trading cryptocurrencies.
This is the first time, in a while, that Nigeria’s apex bank is enforcing the sanction that came with a ban on cryptocurrencies earlier in the year.
It should be recalled that back in February, the CBN informed banks across the country that cryptocurrency had been prohibited. The banks were also directed to identify accounts linked to crypto traders and shut down such accounts.
In the latest circular to banks, the CBN said that the affected individuals violated the earlier directive outlawing cryptocurrency in the country. Consequently, their bank accounts would be shut down and all the funds in the accounts ‘placed in suspense’.
Interestingly, while this is happening in Nigeria, Zimbabwe is busy looking at adopting cryptocurrency as legal payment. Business Insider Africa understands that the Southern African country is currently gathering views from businesses, and will also talk to citizens as part of its research.
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However, the head of Zimbabwe’s e-government technology unit, retired Brigadier Colonel Charles Wekwete, who disclosed the plan over the weekend a computer summit, said there is need for caution because the implications for adopting cryptocurrency aren’t quite clear yet.
He said that governments across the world are still trying to develop policies that will govern crypto assets and that the uncertainty that currently exists is due to the fact that crypto-assets are a “fundamental departure from previously known financial instruments”.
Regardless of the uncertainties, Wekwete assured that the Zimbabwean Government “has put in place mechanism to try and gather views from various sectors of society in order to eventually formulate policies. Sooner or later, (the) government will make statements, but we have not gotten there yet. The consultative process is already underway”.
According to a recent report by Chainalysis, crypto adoption in Africa has surged 1,200% over the past year. The report disclosed that Africa is the third-fastest growing crypto economy in the world. And despite the ban in Nigeria, a lot of people in the West African country favour the digital coins because they help to avoid bank charges and foreign exchange restrictions.
