Despite CBN’s warning, Nigerians among top users of bitcoins

Nigeria is now among the top new countries using bitcoins, the latest edition of “The Nigerian Banker,” a journal of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has revealed.

“It was stated in 2018, 41% of new users in bitcoins, a cryptocurrency hailed from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa,” the publication reads.

The development has emerged despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) earlier warning that digital currencies are not acceptable as legal tender.

Anthony Idigbe, Senior Partner Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, offered some measures on cryptocurrency in a report on “Legal issues in ecommerce,” published in the journal.

“The CBN has to consider ways of applying its regulations to the new consumer behaviours of blockchain and cryptocurrency as there are new infrastructure or payment gateways that allow online/offline merchants to receive other modes of payments from the regular fiat currency such as cryptocurrency.

Read also: Nigeria’s govt ratings slump from stable to negative as public finance, revenue base weaken

“To improve recognition of credible ecommerce, the CBN can require payment gateways and merchant aggregators linked to an ecommerce site, to issue its merchants with a visible certification badge,” Mr Idigbe affirmed.

He went further to state that a majority of e-commerce platforms housed sensitive customers’ information which was often collected through contact forms, customer registration, and during payment for purchases.

The report condemned the dismissive attention given to customers’ private information, saying the development had destroyed consumers’ confidence in the internet and their willingness to embrace electronic transactions.

“Massive data invariably ushered various forms of data breach which would lead to proliferation of lawsuits against such entity from aggrieved consumers,” the CIBN journal said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now