The Central Bank of Nigeria has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of investments in cryptocurrency, stressing that virtual currencies are not legal tender in Nigeria.
A press release issued by the Bank reiterated that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Onecoin and Exchanges such as NairaEx were not licensed or regulated by the CBN.
The statement signed by the Bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, emphasized that dealers and investors in any kind of cryptocurrency in Nigeria were not protected by law, thus may be unable to seek legal redress in event of failure of the exchangers or collapse of the business.
The CBN, therefore, warned Nigerians against investing in cryptocurrency as doing so would be at their own risk.