CBN May Legalise Use of Bitcoin for Transactions, Says NDIC

Obinna Chima with agency report

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, at the weekend disclosed that the commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have set up a committee to look into the possibility of legalising the use of the digital currency, the Bitcoin, for transactions.

According to Bitcoin.org, Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. The website says Bitcoin is an open-source, its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part.

Unlike traditional currencies such as dollars, naira, the euro, etc., bitcoins are issued and managed without any central authority whatsoever: there is no government, company, or bank in charge of Bitcoin.

As such, it is more resistant to wild inflation, devaluation, import policies, currency fixing and corrupt banks. It is a true floating currency whose value is determined by demand and supply.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ibrahim made the remark on the use of bitcoins for digital transactions at the 2016 Workshop for Financial Correspondents in Kaduna.

He said: “On our part, we have constituted a committee together with the central bank to have an in depth study of this phenomenal bitcoin.

“We will look at its advantages and disadvantages, what it means for the payment system and what it means for the safety and security of customers.

“We will also look at what it means for money laundering, anti-corruption, crime and measurement of money/near money instruments for the economy.

“But we need a lot of education to do this and I’m calling on you (the media) to educate yourselves about all of this so you can educate the public.”

Ibrahim said with the bitcoin, it has included block-chain technology-based products in the market