The Federal Government of Nigeria through its financial arm announced a ban on Cryptocurrency bank accounts through which exchange or trading platforms accepts deposit in Naira and through which users make withdrawals.
The most used and known apps that has a local currency or Naira Fiat feature is Luno, Roqqu, Busha, Patricia, flutterwave, and Binance. These apps made crypto trading easy for a lot of Nigerians who are into Cryptocurrency trade.
This ban has been translated to mean an attack by Nigerian Government on the only unbiased financial system that is helping bridge the gap between the poor and the reach, as it is open to all and sundry.
Many Nigerians have even gone further to insinuate that this ban was made to favour those people who are into Bureau de change business, that are mostly affected by the coming of Cryptocurrency exchange platforms.
Many influential Nigerians have kicked against this new policy. Below are some screenshots from well meaning Nigerians condemning the act by government.
Before now, Many Nigerians who have enough money to invest into currency exchange, buy stocks or go into forex and for most of the transactions, an exchanger (Bureau de change) is required to either but or sell a currency.
So what this means is, whenever Dollar is low, people buy with Naira, with hope if selling it when its high, and the people that do this are banks and some licensed Bureau de change business persons. This system limits ones options.
But Cryptocurrency exchange platforms have made it easier and cheaper, and it has given everyone who seeks to invest options and access. This to me is what borders Nigerian government, hence their decision to ban Cryptocurrency bank accounts.
What this new policy is doing is limiting the options of many poor Nigerians who saw Cryptocurrency as a way out of poverty and into living a good life. This new policy has further made many vulnerable, as many are beginning to panic sell, hence falling into the hands of scammers in the name of peer to peer system.
This is what we face, l wish something will be done fast, before many lives gets marred because of a policy that looks very selfish. Thank you for reading through.
That's unfortunate