Nigeria starts digital currency after banning crypto exchange
Published 25 Oct,2021 via Bloomberg Markets - The Central Bank of Nigeria joined a growing list of emerging markets betting on digital money to cut transaction costs and boost participation in the formal financial system.
The digital currency and its underlining technology called blockchain is expected to increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product and remittances, President Muhammadu Buhari said in televised speech at the launch in Abuja, the capital.
The issuance of the digital currency, called the eNaira, comes after the central bank earlier in February outlawed banks and financial institutions from transacting in or operating in cryptocurrencies as they posed a threat to the financial system.
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Emele Onu - Bloomberg