Originally scheduled for October 1, the launch of the e-Naira, the electronic version of the Nigerian currency, is scheduled for Monday 25. It was postponed due to the celebrations marking the 61st anniversary of the country’s accession to the country. independence, according to official sources.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is to officially unveil the Central Bank of Nigeria’s digital currency known as eNaira on Monday, October 25 at the Presidential Palace,” said a statement from the issuing institute. This electronic money “must be activated” the same day, specifies the same source.
The project is being implemented with Barbados-based company Bitt Inc, a technical partner announced about two months ago by the central bank. A choice that the issuing institute explained by the technological competence, the efficiency, the security of the platform, the interoperability and the experience of implementing fintech led by the businessman Brian Popelka . In choosing Bitt Inc, he said, CBN “will build on the company’s proven and proven track record of digital currency, which is already in circulation in several Eastern Caribbean countries.”
Africa’s largest economy in terms of GDP, Nigeria becomes, through this launch, the pioneer on the continent. Nigerians will then be able to download the eNaira app and fund their mobile wallets using their existing bank accounts.
For several years, the central bank had lamented the impact of cryptocurrencies on its economy, arguing that they are used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to a study by the specialized research firm Statista, Nigeria is ranked in 2020 as the third user of virtual currencies in the world after the United States and Russia
