Bitcoin Forum

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/central-bank-of-nigeria-official-reiterates-nigerian-residents-free-to-trade-cryptos-directive-only-applies-to-banking-sector

As a Nigerian I can confirm this particular quote from Mr Adamu is false and CBN has restricted Nigerians from using Bank accounts to buy cryptocurrencies. Though P2P has been done smoothly but there are high rate of scams involved.. People have lost huge some of money through this medium because of holistic approach by the CBN.

Of course, it's still good news for Nigerians that they are free to do cryptocurrency trading via P2P. However, I would consider Nigeria as a "gray country" because the banks are banned and prohibited from dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges, etc.

Right here in the Philippines, despite that the government and central bank has welcomed cryptocurrencies in open arms, there are some banks like Banco De Oro (BDO) who are not crypto friendly. Like my colleague's case as a newbie himself, he withdrew his money from a crypto wallet straight to his bank account. Little did he know that once it came from a cryptocurrency wallet even if it's an emergency, they would immediately close his account, and they did.

That's unfortunate, but based on my experience with the same bank, they are somewhat neutral, I received zero notice regarding the use of the bank account to deposit/withdraw to/from the local crypto exchanges in PH.
I read somewhere that some branch are good/neutral on those cases related to cryptocurrency same like here on my place, yet some are just like what your colleague's experienced.

As for the news, the same like india, nothing's new. Just hope the CBN will clarify its regulations towards this industry.

Right now so many news concerning this hot issue of central bank of Nigeria and crypto-currency restrictions, it's not new if the government of Nigeria plays pawn and master a good character on the media and Nigerian crypto-currency enthusiast lavish in stiff neck character of the central bank on crypto-currency, I feel the topic is far public now and international eyes are reading it up, so it's a matter of time before they let go of their old grudges on crypto-currency.

I don't think the statement from Mr Adamu on this issue is false, crypto usage is still very much legal in Nigeria, the only thing the government have done is to cut off banks from cryptocurrency transactions via exchanges, you can feely exchange your crypto in Nigeria through P2P and the other party will send the funds straight into your account; what the Nigerian government is simply saying is you can freely carry out your crypto transactions, but Nigerian banks will no longer be taking withdrawal request straight from crypto exchanges right into your personal Nigerian bank account.

It's interesting that a senior Executive at the Bank has cleared this out. This is a similar to what happened in India some time back. Even the Reserve Bank of India banned banks from transacting into cryptos but P2P market flourished pretty nicely infact a few exchanges brought online P2P platforms which became quite popular and are still being used by many even after the ban on Banks dealing in cryptos have been lifted bye the Supreme Court. I think a simple thing Nigerians need is a reliable central marketplace which could allow nigerian users to trade in cryptocurrencies, I think this is a pure play business opportunity and you might see an exchange providing this service soon.

And that restriction from CBN using bank accounts for crypto isn't allowed? there's no ban but there's a restriction attaching your bank accounts for crypto purchases? that's like a lite ban for me however, the clarification about imposing the ban is good that it was cleared.
Too sad that there were scams being involved through P2P and it happens everywhere. For you guys there, just be careful whenever you trade P2P and always verify first your trades.

Scammers wont be stopped by any of us here so that’s why you have to be more careful even if you’re using a P2P transactions. Its good that the Nigerian Central Bank clear this things out and finally, Nigerian can trade legally without freezing their bank account if ever. This is a good news and I do hope that more central bank will issue the same thing.

They worry more about the medium of payment instead of addressing the attacks itself so they have to ban cryptocurrency because they don't have the balls to deal with the hacks and can't do it because they are incompetent. Good thing that trading is free to go but I think that the Central Bank of Nigeria is having their priorities pointed in the wrong direction, they could benefit highly in this cryptocurrency game.

Well that's really unfortunate, and I do agree although p2p seems the most logical way of getting around this ban but it's just too risky, but how's the law enforced in real life? does people get their account banned in masses considering in Nigeria crypto users are also many, does the law really gets enforced though or maybe only to whales who hold big amount of money.

Scams are everywhere, it's not the fault of the crypto currencies, it's human nature. Anyways congratulations on having a free of worries trading crypto. Because in some places in the world are having problems with their government, aside from being banned some are just juiced by high taxes. Good to be in our country as we can do whatever we want with our bitcoins and other alts.

When bank accounts can't be used, how can they trade with cryptocurrency. There are two main options now. Either trade with physical cash or gift cards using P2P platforms, or use Stablecoins instead of USD. Both these options have risks associated with them. Imagine meeting a complete stranger face to face to deal with big amounts of cash. It is going to be risky for both the parties (buyer as well as the seller).

even Nigeria will be the leading growth leader for bitcoin, and thus will likely see a major increase in the development of the Nigeria economy this year. since the news about the inauguration that bitcoin is traded openly, its potential and impact will be comprehensive in all sectors. those of us outside Nigeria will find it beneficial.

I don't think the Nigerian government seriously checks whether every individual is trading cryptocurrencies using their bank accounts since this would require a huge time and manpower investment.

These rules are probably only meant to scare cryptocurrency investors and I feel that majority of the cryptocurrency investors still find ways to trade while ignoring these rules.

Similar situations can be observed around the world in countries like India etc based on my research.

They should bring more education for people who involve with bitcoin and cryptocurrency. These regulations only create more crimes since people are in need of more bitcoin and they simply avoid learning more about how to protect themselves from cyber thieves.

Currently, my country has the same issues to you and a vast amount of money have been stolen by burglars who claim themselves as professional in the fields in order to lure investors in their traps. Unfortunately, up to now, there is no law to protect citizens and they have to learn everything by themselves.

Though, I still believe this is a positive move toward cryptocurrencies. It is good not to be restricted from using that digital asset to earn money. In fact, a lot of people in my countries do earn an affordable profit from different sources related to crypto.

I don't get this part. If Banco De Oro works like exchange itself, why did they close your colleague's account? But if the bank doesn't work like exchange, how could he withdraw money from crypto wallet straight to his bank account?

---

As for the Central Bank of Nigeria, they are trying to act exactly like some other central banks in other countries, where governments don't care about their citizens.

Based on the statement of OP, it looks like Nigerian Central Banks are making a false statement when in fact, they really restrict their people are using their banks in connection to cryprocurrency which I think is very common on many countries since they are still in doubt with the potential of Bitcoin. If you’re living on a country where regulators are strict, better to comply with it so you wont get any problem, don’t worry and our real time will come and those banks wont stop us.

I think the facts have been started that the restrictions are on the accounts tied to banks. Like those running an exchange to bank kind of transactions and that was why binance deactivated such accounts that was tied to Nigerian banks. But P2P has been optimally utilized without problem for now.

However, I see politics coming to play in this whole issue because the Senate is also doing her questioning and I know the Nigerian senate to be highly political in decision taking.


Scammers look for such opportunities too to get their own flesh. We need to be careful before we transact.

They may flag random users who deal with cryptocurrency and close down their bank accounts. This will create issues for cryptocurrency users. If they close down the bank account, then the users will face all sort of difficulties. Debit cards and credit cards will get blocked and making payments for utility bills and other expenses will be impossible. Still, at least the situation is better than what we have in India. In Nigeria at least the government is not stupid enough to make possession of cryptocurrency a criminal offense.

Actually this is the case here in Nigeria, they will restrict accounts of users who are dealing with cryptocurrencies but they have not made any law prohibiting possession of cryptocurrency as criminal offence. They rather directed Banks to stop dealing with exchanges offering such services in Nigeria. I'm sorry the Indian government is treating you guys this bad.

Yeah.. right now India is like the worst place to be in, if you are a cryptocurrency user. The rich users have already moved out to more sane jurisdictions. But those who can't afford to do that are stuck here. On top of that, the travel restrictions due to the pandemic has also made things really bad here. I really don't know why they have so much hatred for new innovations. It's like they want the people to remain in poverty forever.

This is not hatred, they simply cannot understand and some will have extreme response to something they cannot understand and that is what we are seeing in India. The stupids who cannot understands the technology comes out and tells things that are doctrined by the same stupid group in their social media circles and they keep on repeating that.

Not everyone can move out because of one law and i am expecting a happy ending as the government have many basic things to do as people are suffering than banning bitcoin.

It is a good decision, crypto should not be a thing that gets banned, there is no logical reason to ban crypto, it is not hurting anyone and it is a good productive thing. Crypto should specially be supported in third world nations like Nigera, I know they are bigger than some other African nations but the poverty level is huge there, if they could instead of going with bans and so forth, and end up with teaching people technological skills, they could end up helping the population (or at least new generation) gain skills that could be used online and that would allow them to actually provide some skills that could worth money in other nations.

100 bucks is nothing for an american but a huge amount for a Nigerian, that way they could gain a lot of money and help the nation grow, this current method is not something that would be helping the nation at all, definitely not if they ban it.

I don't think you are right mate, no offense anyway, Nigeria is not a poor country, it's actually the giant of Africa that provides to both foreign and neighboring countries, Nigeria's ban on cryptocurrency is actually a fault from the political leaders which afterwards they regretted why they made the decision, mind you, Nigeria is one of the country that had huge usage of cryptocurrency in the world according to statistics(research more on that).

---

By the way, the news of allowing Nigerian to trade btc is still restricting users from transacting from their bank cards except for a bank transfer when performing p2p. Therefore the ban is still active, if actually Nigeria could purchase Bitcoin with cards, then that would be enough to say that the ban is over.

They clearly said that they are not allowing anyone to use the bank accounts for the purchase of cryptocurrencies then why they are not willing to accept it individually?

Scams can be stopped by trading on good p2p platforms but it also need KYC ti confirm the authenticity of the trader who is having good trading history.

Then it is a great news for Nigerian citizens because based on what I have read from some threads here in the forum, it seems like Nigerian people are having trouble dealing with their central bank because of their engagement with cryptocurrency transactions that makes their banks accounts into freeze that is very hard to accept although it is already given that it serves as terms and policies of their national government and being implemented by their central bank. With this news, people in Nigeria can go on having transaction with Bitcoin and can attain their free will to use it in their country without the worry of potential freezing of their bank accounts.

CBN never told that Nigerian people cannot do trade Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, They just prevent people to use Bank account for doing crypto related work. They have taken the tricky path to harass trader and maybe they attempt to take control over traders and attempt to regulate cryptocurrency trading. If they do not allow traders to use bank accounts to take payments then how can they say that Nigerian Residents Free to Trade BTC!

Although the matter looks like at a confused state, had I been there, I would not get involved with crypto because of unambiguous laws. They say they didn't ban P2P but also saying the restrictions apply to banking sector, as in, P2P only allowed when meet face to face? I don't know if there's ewallet available, if they do then those can be used for P2P trades, but then again, looking at the situation, it really looks risky to trade until some sort of clarity is enlightened.

So basically they can trade but they can't withdraw their crypto in banks from what I can understand, this is a pretty vague and scummy stuff for CBN to do, I mean this restricts traders their way of getting the profits that they gained in the process. P2P could be a solution but there is a rampant scams going on with P2P so it will be difficult.

That's right, and for this reason governments, if they really care about their citizens, should facilitate the usage of Bitcoin. Living in underdeveloped country it's nearly the only option to find a job abroad: you should accept your salary in BTC.