CBN directs banks to shutdown crypto accounts

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks and other financial institutions to close customer accounts used in trading cryptocurrencies and other related transactions to stop forthwith.

In a circular seen on Friday afternoon, the Nigerian bank regulator ordered deposit money banks, non-bank financial institutions and other financial institutions to “identify persons and/or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges within their systems and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately. “

The CBN has been long taken a hardline position against cryptocurrencies, which have become a major unit of commerce across the world in recent years.