The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed fines totaling N814.3 million (RM8.24 million) on four local commercial banks for processing cryptocurrency transactions.
It is understood restrictions on transactions in cryptocurrency assets have been implemented over the past year after the highest monetary authorities placed implicit or explicit bans on the cryptocurrency market.
At that time the African government ordered commercial banks in the country to close all accounts related to cryptocurrencies.
Under the watch of ultra-modern technology, CBN found that banks that broke the law were fined differently and they were:
Stanbic IBTC Bank - (RM2.02 million)
Access Bank PLC - (RM5.06 million)
United Bank for Africa (UBA) PLC - (RM1.01 million)
Fidelity Bank PLC - (RM144,628)
Looking at this situation, it is difficult to predict the future of the crypto market in Nigeria despite being listed as one of the countries with high demand for crypto assets.
Based on a report from the United States ’Library of Congress (LoC) in 2021, a total of 51 countries have blocked cryptocurrencies and 23 of them are African countries.
Meanwhile, four of them - Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia clearly show restrictions on cryptocurrencies, while 19 of them place vague restrictions.
