April 25, (THEWILL) – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says a notice circulating on social media about the risk of cryptocurrency did not originate from it and, therefore, is fake news.
The CBN disclosed this via its official X account, urging the public to disregard the purported notice for all Deposits Money Bank, Non-Bank Financial Institutions, and other Financial Institutions.
The apex bank stated that although the said notice reminded “institutions that dealing in cryptocurrencies and facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited,” the content does not originate from it.
“This information does not originate from the Central Bank of Nigeria. For authentic updates, please visit the official website,” the CBN wrote.
THEWILL recalls that the CBN Governor, during the Bank’s recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, said “over $26 billion funnelled through Binance”.
On April 23, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, said the anti-graft agency froze about 300 accounts to ensure the safety of the foreign exchange market.
It is widely believed that many of the affected accounts were related to cryptocurrency transactions.
The Nigerian Government had continued clamping down on Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms amid efforts to defend the naira in the foreign exchange market.
The current appreciation of the naira in the official and parallel foreign exchange markets is traced to the impact of the battle against cryptocurrency transactions in Nigeria.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
