Nigeria launched its digital currency yesterday (25), e-naira, with 500 million units (equivalent to 1,21 million USD) with the seal of the Central Bank of that country and where they are already available for transactions “less expensive, more efficient and safer", as reported by the governor of that financial institution, Godwin Emefiele, to the newspaper Premium Times.
The official launch of the coin was made by President Muhammadu Buhari, in the country's capital, where, from that moment on, the enaira became available for download, through the official website of the Nigerian digital currency, which you can access by clicking here, or through two applications available on the Play store Google and the Apple store (eNaira speed wallet e eNaira merchant wallet).
Although its release comes late, as it was scheduled for the 1st of October, this event is the “the culmination of years of research work.", in the sense of "advancement of payment system limits” Nigerian in order to ensure “Easier and seamless transactions to all strata of society“, according to the statement from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
BUT: Nigeria to announce it will launch its digital currency
In this sense, the enaira it becomes the first African central bank digital currency (CBDC) available and was developed by digital financial services company Bitt Inc., a Barbados-based fintech that is behind the creation of digital currency for some Eastern Caribbean countries.
In addition to Nigeria, Ghana is preparing to launch its digital currency, the e-ced, which will work online and offline, with smart cards with a chip, similar to modern bank cards, as Kwame Opponf, head of innovation at the Central Bank of Ghana (BoG), explained to the CoinDesk website.
Before the e-Cedi went into operation, which is in the final testing phase, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison, issued a warning about cryptocurrencies, currencies that are not regulated as is the case with the CBDC, which are linked to central banks and are therefore more reliable.
"I think there is a lot more emphasis on looking at digital currency, which is backed by the state, backed by central banks. These private forms of money [cryptocurrencies] are not really able to effectively perform the functions of money“, warned Ernest Addison, during a press conference in June.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, eNaira “it's a legal currency", like the naira, which must be accepted by "all merchants and commercial establishments as a form of payment in the country".
