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Nigeria releases its first digital currency : e-naira

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I was already almost done compiling this post when I saw the hive naija weekly prompt was also on this topic, therefore this will serve as my entry for this week's prompt.

Almost a year after banning the usage of cryptocurrency, Nigeria creates its first digital currency known as the e-naira.

What is the e-naira?

The e-naira (as I stated earlier) is a digital currency with its value pegged to Nigerian naira. It was designed by a fintech company called Bitt. It is a medium of exchange and can be used for any type of trade as long as you both have e-naira wallets which is available on both playstore and and apple store.

All i know about e-naira

The CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) mints and then issues the e-naira to banks using the DCMS (Digital Currency Management System). The bank receives the e-naira in a specific e-naira wallet called the e-naira treasury wallet. They then share it among their branches. There branches receive it in their e-naira branch wallet and share to the users on their speed wallet. Users can now use it to make payments as they would with, normal naira. To create your e-naira wallet, you have to fill in your personal information such as name, date of birth, state of origin, your NIN, and so on.

According to punch news CBN has already minted 500million e-naira and 33 banks have already accepted the proposal.

My thoughts on the e-naira

Personally for me I don't find the e-naira useful. First, its a stable coin, meaning it's value does not rise or decrease. I also don't see the difference between doing a normal bank transfer and transferring e-naira from one person to another. There has been no mention of staking e-naira, so I can't see any way in which it is useful. Untop of all of that it is centralized, meaning the government have full control over It. Most (if not all) successful digital currencies are decentralized.

Considering the fact that the government banned cryptocurrency less than a year ago, I don't think the general public will receive the e-naira with open arms. I also at the moment can't even imagine myself buying the e-naira as I can't seem to find out its importance.

Im sure some of you will be wondering what will happen to the crypto ban in Nigeria as the country has launched theirs. I think it may be lifted, but if it isn't I wouldn't be surprised. Stranger things have happened.

Thanks for taking your time to read, your support and feedback is greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful day