Central Bank Postpones October 1st e-Naira Launch

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the postponement of the proposed launch of its digital currency, e-Naira.

A statement by the apex bank’s Director of Communications, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, said that the launch, which was earlier scheduled for October 1, 2021, was postponed due to other activities lined up to commemorate the country’s 61st independence anniversary.

Recall the MarketForces Africa reported that the platform has gone live ahead of expectation but was unavailable for download on google play. Without the app, Nigerians would still be unable to use digital currency for transactions.

MarketForces Africa research team gathered that the robustness of the app is key to implementation, citing the El Salvadorian recent glitches experience with Bitcoin adoption as legal tender.

In the statement, Nwanisobi said that the CBN and other partners were working round-the-clock to ensure a seamless process that would be in the overall interest of customers, especially the unbanked population.

He said that with the e-Naira Nigerians would be able to carry out peer-to-peer transfers to another person’s e-Naira wallet, as well as pay for goods and services at selected merchants.

He added that the e-Naira would also help to reduce the use of cash and ensure the stability of the Nigerian economy.

The director assured Nigerians that financial institutions in Nigeria remained key actors and were a critical part of the CBN Digital Currency.

While some Broadstreet analysts projected that the introduction of the digital currency would reduce arbitrage activities and keep naira fit in the foreign exchange market, others have toll an opposite direction.

Some also caution the apex bank to be a bit cautious and not to hasten to launch the digital currency.

Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, a past President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), had advised the CBN to engage more stakeholders in consultations and to carry out adequate sensitisation before launching the e-Naira.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had planned to launch a digital currency on October 1, 2021. Dubbed the “eNaira”, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is expected to improve financial inclusion to 95% by 2024 from 36% currently.

The eNaira will have parity with the fiat currency in the country and will also be non-interest bearing. The key players across its transaction value chain will include the CBN, Banks, Government, Merchants, and Consumers.

……………………Meanwhile, Bitcoin price inches higher Friday after two weeks of selling rallies that plunge the crypto market capitalisation below $2 trillion markets. Since mid-September, top cryptocurrencies including Ethereum loss their alloy after El Salvadorian become the first sovereign country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.

Glitches witness on the first day had fuel negative sentiment amidst a well-pronounced crackdown in China. Beijing officially closed down cryptocurrency transactions amidst Evengarde debt pressure.

The latest rally on Bitcoin was bolstered in part by seasonal factors as well as supportive comments overall from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday. Powell told Congress that Fed has no intention of banning cryptocurrencies in response to a question from House Representative Ted Budd.

Other crypto assets are also rising, thus lifted market capitalisation above the $2 trillion mark in weeks.

Some analysts also said October is typically a bullish month for digital assets, with September historically a bearish period for the sector. The largest cryptocurrency was last up nearly 9% at $47,742, hitting a high of just under $48,000.

If gains are maintained, bitcoin would be on pace to post its largest daily percentage gain since mid-June. After falling below $3000, Ethereum has also picked up in a direct competitive manners bitcoin. The second-largest crypto asset has gained about 10% to $3,293% in the last 24 hours.