Nigeria becomes first African nation to roll out digital currency

Nigeria’s central bank earlier in February outlawed banks and financial institutions from transacting or operating in cryptocurrencies, saying they posed a threat to the financial system. 

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria joined a growing list of emerging markets betting on digital money to cut transaction costs and boost participation in the formal financial system.

 

“Nigeria has become the first country in Africa, and one of the first in the world to introduce a digital currency to her citizens,” President Muhammadu Buhari said in televised speech at the launch in Abuja, the capital. “The adoption of the central bank digital currency and its underlying technology, called blockchain, can increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product by $29 billion over the next 10 years.”  – Source By Emele Onu- Bloomberg