Nigerian Central Bank Targets Tenfold Increase in Number of CBDC Users, Governor Says Use of Cash Will ‘Dissipate to Zero’ – Emerging Markets Bitcoin News

Although Nigerians seem to be slow in accepting the e-naira cryptocurrency, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria stated that the bank wants to see a 10 fold increase in users of digital currency over the next twelve month. The governor predicted that the use of cash will “dissipate to zero” while the “use of digital currency will increase to become part of our lives.”

E-Naira will be available to all Nigerians

Some ten months after its launch, the app for the Nigerian central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the e-naira — has now been downloaded 840,000 times, a report has said. The CBN claims that digital currencies are a safer alternative to volatile cryptocurrency. This is a shocking revelation.

According to reports, Nigerians are increasingly interested in cryptocurrency. This led to the disclosure of how many times the enaira app was downloaded. Bitcoin.com News, for instance, reported this month that Nigeria was the most passionate about cryptocurrency. Kucoin’s survey found that 33.4 Million Nigerian adults own cryptocurrencies.

Although the CBDC has not yet been as popular as cryptocurrencies, it was reportedly claimed by the Central Bank of Nigeria that they are hopeful of seeing a tenfold rise in e-naira downloadings over the next twelve months. According to CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, the central bank’s ultimate objective is to ensure the CBDC is available to all Nigerians. Emefiele made this observation at the central bank sponsored hackathon.

Similar to the naira the e-naira should be accessible to all Nigerians. This will open up more options to allow the unbanked access the digital economy.

The CBN announced that the e-naira would be available starting August 22 to ensure all Nigerians have access to the CBDC. Emefiele claimed that prospective users could access the enaira simply by calling 997 from their phones.

Emefiele stated that Nigeria was forced to adopt emerging technologies when explaining why the CBN had decided to create the digital currency. The governor also predicted that the use of cash will “dissipate to zero” while the “use of digital currency will increase to become part of our lives.”

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara, a Zimbabwean journalist, writer and author who has been awarded the Zimbabwe Booker Prize. His writings have covered the economic problems of several African countries and how digital currency can offer an escape route.