Key Takeaways
- Nigerian Central bank is set to approve forex requests of customers with legitimate needs that surpass their monthly limits.
- This development was revealed by the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele in a recent interview
- Nigeria remains the biggest bitcoin market despite the ongoing crypto ban
Emefiele stated this in a recent interview with the media, where he outlined the plans of the apex bank to cater to the forex demands of Nigerians.
The current forex transaction limit is pegged to $5000 monthly, and there have been complaints that it is not sufficient to address the growing needs of the local populace.
The efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria to control the downturn of the Naira has dominated the news in recent weeks.
It began with the apex bank stopping the weekly sales of dollars to Bureau du Exchange, resulting in a ripple effect.
Within a few weeks, the price of the Naira to the dollars rose by more than 20% from 450/$ to the current price of 570/$.
This is despite the apex bank assuring that commercial banks were capable of handling local forex demands.
However, it appears that the CBN is incapable of controlling the flow of forex, and many Nigerians have turned to the black market for dollars.
The apex bank has been clutching on straws and recently moved against AbokiFX, a website that publishes currency exchange rates information.
Despite these problems, the CBN is forging forward with the e-naira project's launch on October 1, 2021.
The e-naira is the digital currency that will be controlled by the bank and will serve as an alternative to digital currencies.
It should be noted that cryptocurrencies are banned in the African nation, which has not stopped the growth of the local crypto industry.
Nigeria is still the biggest bitcoin market in Africa.
It remains to be seen whether the government will pass comprehensive blockchain laws to leverage this advantage in the coming months.
What do you think about Godwin Emefiele’s comments?
