Nigeria Set To Join Countries Using Digital Currency In October

Before the end of this year, Nigeria would have joined countries like South Africa, Tunisia, Ghana , Sweden, Japan, South Korea, and Russia in using digital currency.

This follows the disclosure by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that the country would launch the pilot scheme of its digital currency by October 1, 2021.

The resolution was made during a private webinar on Thursday in which CBN and its stakeholders outlined a digital currency initiative.

The apex bank had in June announced plans to launch its own digital currency before the close of the year.

It said about 80 percent of central banks globally are currently exploring the possibility of issuing their central bank digital currency (CBDC) and Nigeria could not be left behind.

After the stakeholders meeting, Rakiya Mohammed, CBN director of information technology, explained that the apex bank had been conducting research since 2017 in regards to developing a digital currency.

Mohammed said CBN may conduct a proof of concept before the end of this year.

She said the project name is tagged ‘GIANT’ and it will use the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain.

The Hyperledger Fabric is an open source project that acts as a foundation for developing blockchain-based products, solutions, and applications using plug-and-play components that are aimed for use within private enterprises.

Explaining the importance of its digital currency, the CBN said it will include macro management and growth, cross border trade facilitation, financial inclusion, monetary policy effectiveness, improved payment efficiency, revenue tax collection, remittance improvement, and targeted social intervention.

Some other countries that have officially launched their own national digital currency are China (digital yuan), Bahamas (sand dollar), Eastern Caribbean (DCash).