What’s Nigeria’s beef with cryptocurrencies?

IS Nigeria done with cryptocurrencies?

For the last couple of years, Nigeria has built a reputation as one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the world.

“It’s a huge deal in Nigeria, especially for young people”, says the BBC’s Ajoke Ulohotse in Lagos.

On social media, there’s no shortage of “rags to riches” stories: people who, having joined the cryptocurrency bubble, made good money in the process.

“The money that I’ve made from cryptocurrencies? As a minimum wage earner, I won’t earn that until I die”, says Tola Joseph Fadugbagbe, founder of a company called “Crypto Master Class”.

But the Central Bank of Nigeria is worried about the legality of this trade, as well as its lack of transparency and regulation. So, it has asked banks to close cryptocurrency accounts.

“Say you have bitcoins in your [virtual] wallet and you wanted to convert them to money… You were able to do that before, but now you can’t”, says Ms Ulohotse.

The move has angered many young people involved in this trade, and they have been asking the Central Bank to revert its decision.

So, could this be the end of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria?

Source: BBC