Nigerian president to unveil eNaira central bank digital currency

Published at: Oct. 25, 2021

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is set to officially introduce the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published a document in which it reaffirmed its intention to introduce the eNaira after previously attempting but failing to do so on Oct. 1. According to the design paper for the eNaira, the CBN now considers itself prepared to implement Nigeria’s CBDC. 

The CBN is working on a global cryptocurrency that will be used as a means of payment and a store of value in addition to replacing cash.

The CBN, in its own statement, downplayed the risks of missing a deadline. Rather, the bank emphasized the value of getting things right the first time and how doing so contributes to long-term success for digital currencies. The CBN stressed the need to get off on the right foot rather than rushing to release a digital currency that has not yet received all necessary approvals.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Nigerian Federal High Court approved the rollout of a CBDC as a legal tender on Oct. 2.

Related: French central bank pilots blockchain-based CBDC for debt market

The CBN published the document containing its design principles for the eNaira together with an overview of what is expected of the Nigerian digital currency. The two documents are available on the bank’s website in English and were also provided in Hausa and Yoruba.

According to the CBN, rather than concentrating all of its efforts on launching the eNaira on time, it has spent its effort on designing and architecting the eNaira. It has also allocated a lot of time to educate potential users about the currency’s capabilities, risks, and how they will be mitigated.

The central bank stated that these key facts should reassure Nigerians that the eNaira, which will be accessible to offline users, has been carefully planned and prepared for launch.

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