Why we can’t regulate crypto currency now – CBN

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele said the apex bank can’t regulate crypto currency due to uncertainties involved in its techniques, transactions and control.

He made the position known in Abuja yesterday during a two-day public hearing organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency on the process to amend the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2004.

Emefiele, who was represented by the Director, Legal Services, CBN, Mr. Johnson Akinwumi, noted that it would be premature and ill-advised for the apex bank to dabble into the regulation of crypto currencies, such as ‘bitcoin’, at this stage.

While answering a question on the position of the apex bank with regard to the regulation of crypto currency in the Nigerian economy, Akinwunmi stated that the CBN was still studying the dynamics of crypto-currency.

“Crypto currency is something the CBN should be careful about and continue to study for sometime before decision is made,” he said.

Crypto currency, also known as alternative or virtual currency, is a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of additional units of currencies, secure its transactions, and verify the transfer of funds; it operates independently of a central banking system.