Nigerian Central Bank Says It Is Now Ready to Launch CBDC, Downplays Previous Failure

After failing to roll out its CBDC on October 1, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a document in which it reiterates its commitment to launching the e-naira. In fact, in this document titled The Design Paper for the E-naira, the CBN says it is now ready to launch Nigeria’s CBDC.

However, in the same document, the central bank appears to downplay the implications of failing to launch as planned. Instead, the CBN attempts to highlight the importance of getting things right the first time and how this guarantees the digital currency’s success in the long term. The document explains the CBN’s position:

While the launch of the e-naira is an important event, it is one milestone on a long journey. The e-naira is a process, not a single step. Over time, the CBN believes the robust ecosystems that will be built on the e-naira platform will ensure Nigeria and Nigerians receive all the benefits from the e-naira.

Instead of putting its entire focus on launching the e-naira on time, the CBN says it has spent time working on the e-naira design and architecture. It has also prioritized sharing with prospective e-naira users the digital currency’s functionalities, the risks of the e-naira and how they will be mitigated, and the e-naira implementation roadmap.

According to the central bank, it is these critical details that should give comfort to Nigerians that the e-naira, which will be available to offline users, has been well-conceived and the launch has been robustly planned.

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