Nigeria bans banks from servicing Bitcoin exchanges

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has prohibited commercial financial institutions from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses dealing in digital assets. The directive took effect upon publication.

The regulator ordered banks to close such accounts. Violators face penalties.

According to Google Trends, Nigeria ranks second worldwide in interest in Bitcoin.

Popularity of the search query “bitcoin” by country over the last 30 days. Data: Google Trends.

In 2017, the CBN acknowledged that regulating or halting the spread of the first cryptocurrency is impossible.

In October 2020, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey donate bitcoins to those harmed by overreach by law enforcement.

Earlier, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recognised digital assets as securities, “unless proven otherwise”.

Letter to All Banks on Crypto Currency by ForkLog on Scribd

In November 2020, the finance ministry announced the start of joint work with the SEC on the legal standards for cryptocurrencies.

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