In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu revealed that over $500 million worth of Bitcoin has been traded over the past five years. The former Head of Directorate of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (a unit which he says is in charge of the financial systems) revealed this in response to Central Bank’s ban on cryptocurrencies that directs all banks and financial institutions to close all accounts that transact in cryptocurrency. He spoke against the decision of the Central Bank to ban cryptocurrencies. He said the Central Bank shouldn’t have outrightly banned cryptocurrencies. He said even the huge risks in trading cryptocurrencies shouldn’t have been a reason to ban it. In his own words he said, ‘A lot of the activities in the world are going digital and I would not recommend banning it (cryptocurrencies) outright’.
He went on to explain that cryptocurrencies have meandered their way to become a real factor in the investment ecosystem of the country and a source of livelihood for a lot of individuals especially unemployed youths. According to him, over $500 million worth of Bitcoin has been traded in the since the past five years and Nigeria is one of the top ten countries that use cryptocurrencies in the world today. In fact Nigeria is the country that uses cryptocurrencies the most after the United States of America.
The former Head of Directorate of the Central Bank of Nigeria and presidential aspirant found fault with the ban on cryptocurrencies. He talked about how this would affect the average Nigerian. According to him, the government is seemingly on the move with actions to take away the opportunities from Nigerians. He also stressed on how depressed the Nigerian economy is and how the ban seems to be a deliberate action against Nigerians.
He was of the opinion that every investment is associated with risks and if he had his way to make decisions concerning cryptocurrencies, his focus would be on creating ways to balance the risks and investment as against the current realities of the country.
He also made it known that regular currencies fall in value against cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and that many policies from the Central Bank in the past have not been favourable.
He advised that the Nigerian Government should create and sustain a friendly and more efficient environment for investment. He also added that because of the current state of the investment scene in Nigeria, foreign investment will dwindle and continue to dwindle.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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