Senate takes action over ban on cryptocurrency in Nigeria

The Senate has mandated its Committees on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, ICT and Cybercrimes and Capital Market to invite the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele to brief it on the recent ban on cryptocurrency in the country.

The Senate also invited the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, to meet with its joint committee on the issue.

It explained that the information that would emanate from the briefings from the two regulatory bodies would assist the Senate to “determine the opportunities and threats of the cryptocurrency on the nation’s economy and security.”

This resolution of the upper chamber was sequel to its consideration of a motion titled: “CBN’s decision to stop Financial Institutions from transacting in Crypto currencies and matters arising therefrom” at plenary.

The motion was sponsored by Senator Istifanus Dung Gyang, (Plateau North) and Senator Adetokumbo Mukhail Abiru, (Lagos East).

Senator Gyang who presented the motion urged his colleagues to note that the CBN has issued a directive stopping all financial institutions from transacting in cryptocurrencies.

He said that the directive of the apex bank was a follow up to its earlier directives in January, 2017 and February 2018 which “forbade banks not to use, hold, trade and/or transact in cryptocurrencies.