Nigeria has become the first nation in Africa to launch a soverign digital currency called eNaira. The central bank had earlier delayed the launch by a month but now seems everything has been put in place for the official launch. The Nigerian Central Bank also claimed that their emphasis was more on launching a complete product rather than fulfilling the deadlines.
The press release by the Central Bank of Nigeria called eNaira a major step forward in the evolution of money.
“The launch of the eNaira is a culmination of several years of research work by the Central Bank of Nigeria in advancing the boundaries of the payments system in order to make financial transactions easier and seamless for every stratum of society. Following a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders including the banking community, fintech operators, merchants, and indeed, a cross-section of Nigerians, the CBN designed the digital currency, which shall be activated on Monday, October 25, 2021.”
With the eNaira launch, the Nigerian government hopes to usher in a new era of digital finance in the country which has suffered due to financial inequality and lack of banking facilities for the masses. Africa has also emerged as a budding ground for a digital transformation as it became the second-highest crypto remittance region this year.
Nigeria Leaves China Behind in CBDC Launch
Nigeria has also left China behind in terms of the CBDC launch as the digital yuan’s official launch date still remains a mystery. China had completed its CBDC development in 2019, at the time other nations were not even considering CBDC as a prospect, but it has continuously delayed the launch. At the same time, the scale of the CBDC trials is getting larger with several provinces and cities currently being a testing ground for digital yuan.
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