Nigeria's E-Naira Lures About Half a Million People Weeks After Its Launch (bloomberg.com) 10
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Nigerian central bank's digital currency has lured about half a million users three weeks after it was introduced in a move to entice people away from crypto currencies. Adoption rate for the Central Bank of Nigeria digital currency called eNaira "has been excellent," according to Osita Nwanisobi, spokesman for the Abuja-based lender. More than 488,000 people have downloaded the consumer wallet -- that's needed to transact eNaira -- while about 78,000 merchants from more than 160 countries have enrolled, Nwanisobi said by phone.
The central bank is opposed to crypto currencies but that hasn't stopped Nigerians from using virtual currencies as a hedge against the nation's capital controls and to remit money. Demand is so large that individuals in the West African nation hold the world's highest proportion of such assets per capita, according to a survey by Statista. About 62 million naira ($150,000) of the virtual currency have been traded since it was introduced, according to Nwanisobi. The nation has traded 60,215 Bitcoins since 2017 to the end of last year -- valued at $3.9 billion as of Monday -- the largest volume outside the U.S., according to Paxful, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace. It has also the largest proportion of retail users conducting transactions under $10,000, according to Chainalysis.
The central bank is opposed to crypto currencies but that hasn't stopped Nigerians from using virtual currencies as a hedge against the nation's capital controls and to remit money. Demand is so large that individuals in the West African nation hold the world's highest proportion of such assets per capita, according to a survey by Statista. About 62 million naira ($150,000) of the virtual currency have been traded since it was introduced, according to Nwanisobi. The nation has traded 60,215 Bitcoins since 2017 to the end of last year -- valued at $3.9 billion as of Monday -- the largest volume outside the U.S., according to Paxful, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace. It has also the largest proportion of retail users conducting transactions under $10,000, according to Chainalysis.
Dear Beloved Friend ... (Score:4, Funny)
Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dr Francois Bellini and I am the head of digital currencies from the Central Bank of Nigeria. I have a proposal for you that I think you will be very excited about, one that could make you very very rich ...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Dear Beloved Friend ... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Why do I doubt that you've met everyone in the "whole country"?
Anyway, the story only caught my eye because it got so few reactions on Slashdot. I would have thought some of the crypto gold rush folks would have been interested--but this FP thread may get to the heart of their lack of interest. Sometimes the fools' gold is just too obvious.
Virtual, my ass (Score:2)
It's real digital currency, not virtual. You'd think Bloomberg would know the the difference between virtual and real wouldn't you.
Euphemistically saying virtual coin or virtual notes in a passing nod to historical tokens of money would be fine. But that doesn't make a purely digital currency any less real than the weighty tokens of old it is replacing.
Money, after all, is just an invented tool. We craft it to our needs.
Re: (Score:2)
Well... when the EMP comes, and after the dust settles and society starts to pick up the pieces, suddenly my 1 oz silver coin (a weighty token of old) will be worth a crate of food, unlike your USB key that formerly held a digital wallet. :)
Re: Virtual, my ass (Score:2)
Sure (Score:1)
That's a country you can trust!
I am Mr ENEST JOHN OBI A delivery agent, (Score:1)
1. Full Names
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3. ID copy
4. Mobile phone number
5. Nearest airport to land
Please if you received this mail in your spam/bulk folder that is because of the restrictions implemented by your internet service provider I urge you to treat it g