Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, is convinced that cryptocurrency threatens Nigeria’s financial system and must remain under quarantine indefinitely. At a Senate hearing held on Tuesday, Emefiele described cryptocurrency as “money that is created out of thin air” and used by “players in an electronic dark world where transactions are extremely opaque.” […]
At about 12:35am on Tuesday, one of my colleagues received an email from Ecobank. It started with a few paragraphs reminding him of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive that banks should stop enabling cryptocurrency transactions. The crucial message was this: “…please be informed that any account identified as transacting or operating in cryptocurrency exchanges […]
Next Wave: Crypto’s hurdle in Nigeria Jay-Z feat. Jack D FEBRUARY 14, 2021 This newsletter is a weekly in-depth analysis of tech and innovation in Africa that will serve as a post-pandemic guide. Subscribe here to get it directly in your inbox every Sunday at 3 pm WAT Hello, “ Don’t you ever for a […]
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has hinted that he’s partnered with rapper and Tidal chief Jay Z to create a new endowment to fund Bitcoin development starting in Africa and India. This project which is called ₿trust will be launched with an injection of 500 Bitcoin currently valued at $23.6 million. It would be run without […]
Nigerian senators have reacted to the current ban on cryptocurrency trading in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). On one hand, a cross-session of the lawmakers are of the opinion that cryptocurrencies have made the Nigerian currency useless, but on the other hand, some think there are huge economic opportunities there, hence […]
On Tuesday evening, James Chijindu went to a mall in Lagos to grab a meal and groceries. When it came time to pay, his Guaranty Trust Bank and First Bank debit cards were unresponsive. So he called a GTBank helpline and the message was clear; Chijindu’s account was closed in accordance with the directive of […]