The Central Bank of Nigeria has said cryptocurrencies promote illegal activities and raise risks, among other reasons.
It said this in a statement regarding various comments and reactions following its recent reminder to Banks to desist from transacting in/and with entities dealing in cryptocurrencies.
The CBN stated, “The recent regulatory directive became necessary to protect the financial system and the generality of Nigerians (including the youth population) from the risks inherent in crypto assets transactions, which have escalated in recent times, with dire consequences for the integrity of the financial system and financial stability.
Due to the fact that cryptocurrencies are largely speculative, anonymous and untraceable they are increasingly being used for money laundering, terrorism financing and other criminal activities.
The CBN said for those who were not conversant with the universe of cryptocurrencies, it was important to state that cryptocurrencies “are digital or virtual currencies issued by largely anonymous entities and secured by cryptography.”
While there are a number of cryptocurrencies now in circulation, Bitcoin was the first to be introduced in 2009, and now accounts for about 68 percent of all cryptocurrencies.
