Nigeria, a West African country, is reportedly planning to ban financial institutions from intermediating peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions.
The move comes as the country's Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) classified cryptocurrency trading as a national security concern.
According to anonymous sources, three fintech startups known to enable P2P cryptocurrency transactions have been directed to block these transactions and report them to law enforcement. Speculation that Nigeria plans to ban P2P cryptocurrency transactions emerged just weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was forced to publicly reject a letter claiming to reverse a decision made on February 5, 2021.
A report from local resource Techcabal revealed that the NSA, which has influenced the country's cryptocurrency transaction policy in recent months, has classified cryptocurrency trading as a national security issue. Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of fintech startup Moniepoint, said such a definition could indicate that Nigerian authorities are considering banning P2P cryptocurrency transactions.
Eniolorunda also shared his views on why Nigerian authorities want to block P2P transactions. “NSA found a large number of accounts involved in crypto trading and blocked the accounts. They were worried that fintechs were quick to open accounts and told us to stop opening accounts,” said Moniepoint CEO.
Although no date has been specified for the implementation of the ban, an unidentified person quoted in the report claims that the ban is expected to be announced soon.
*This is not investment advice.