Nigeria plans to legalize Bitcoin amid widespread cryptocurrency scams

Many countries are considering regulating Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency can bring endless possibilities, but due to the lack of a centralized management agency in this ecosystem, regulation is usually difficult. The Bank of Nigeria is considering legalizing Bitcoin, a move that could promote the development and popularity of this cryptocurrency.

Nigeria’s Bitcoin Initiative

This is not the first time that Nigerian banks are planning to legalize Bitcoin. There were reports of this a few months ago. Although people do not think this will play a decisive role in the future development of Bitcoin, it at least proves that Nigerian banks are on a united front. Legalizing Bitcoin makes sense, but many people are still surprised by the bank's consideration.

An article in the news website The Inquirer mentioned the Nigerian Banking Commission (NBC)’s research into blockchain technology. This is not surprising, after all, almost all banks are aware of the potential of distributed ledgers. However, there are still no production-level applications in this field. Experts predict that some blockchain applications will be launched this year, but whether this is the case remains to be seen.

Interestingly, the Nigerian Banking Commission still believes that Bitcoin poses a threat to the country's financial ecosystem. More precisely, the organization has the idea that "unreliable virtual currencies are rampant in our country." It is not difficult to guess which virtual currency they are referring to. First of all, OneCoin is very popular in Nigeria; secondly, the MMM scam only accepts Bitcoin payments in Nigeria.

It is clear that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) wants to learn more about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. This open attitude is very important for the development of cryptocurrencies in the country. In addition, it is only a matter of time before Nigeria's Bitcoin regulations are introduced, which may happen this year. Reasonable regulations will help promote the legalization of Bitcoin in Nigeria, even if the currency is not issued by the country's central bank.

Nigeria is not the only country in the world that plans to regulate and legalize Bitcoin. Japan's new Bitcoin regulations will take effect in April this year. By then, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will continue to develop in a legal manner. Although no one can control the development of Bitcoin itself, the government can still issue specific guidelines to assist companies in managing customer funds. If financial companies need to be regulated, then Bitcoin companies should not be an exception.

In any case, Bitcoin regulation is not a bad thing. The Chinese central bank issued new management measures in the past few weeks, and although the price of the currency has fallen slightly, it has gradually stabilized. It is not clear how Nigeria will regulate blockchain and cryptocurrency, but it is definitely something worth paying attention to.