Nigeria Central Bank Governor Says CBDC Launch Just ‘a Couple of Days’ Away

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has confirmed the country’s upcoming digital currency will be launched “in a couple of days from now.” According to the governor, the digital currency which is also known as the e-naira will be the first of its kind in Africa.

• Emefiele’s reassurances to Nigerians follow the CBN’s deferment of the e-naira launch to an unknown date.
• Sources disclose Emefiele said on Thursday the e-naira CBDC will make Nigeria “one of the first countries in Africa to adopt the digitisation of its national currency.”
• As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the central bank claimed it had postponed the e-naira’s launch because this would have clashed with the country’s independence day celebrations.
• However, some observers have speculated that the deferment may have been necessitated by a legal challenge that was brought against the central bank by a Nigerian firm.
• A Nigerian court has since ruled in favor of the CBN thus paving the way for the launch of a digital currency that will be one of the first in Africa.

• When finally launched, this digital currency is expected to accelerate financial inclusion and enable cheaper and faster remittance inflows, according to the CBN.
• The launch of the CBDC will also ensure that the central bank will maintain control of the monetary system.
• 12 days ago on September 27, Nigeria’s official website for the e-naira which states: “Same Naira. More Possibilities” and that financial transactions will be “easier.”
• The website also boasts an e-naira wallet, which can be downloaded via Google Play for Android and the Apple App Store for iOS devices.

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