By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 17th, 2024
On the eNaira official website, it was revealed that the banks in the country have a significant role in the implementation of the currency.
After postponing the launch of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project indefinitely on October 1, Nigeria has finally announced that it would be launching the project today at the State House, Abuja. This was revealed in a press statement signed by a top executive of the apex bank. The eNaira project is the brainchild of the central bank of Nigeria and it is expected to be the digital version of the country’s fiat currency. The digital currency is not expected to replace its physical counterpart, instead, it would only act as a complement.
The CBN, in the press release revealed that it has put more effort into structuring and developing the eNaira. The effort was also channeled towards enlightening prospective users on what eNaira would do. This is in terms of application, associated risks, and the efforts they had put in place to mitigate them. This was all to reassure users about their readiness for this unveiling.
Interestingly, Nigeria would officially become the first African country to launch its digital currency, making it a major milestone for the continent.
The CBN also asked interested users to sign up for the wallet by inputting “their details as captured during BVN enrollment.”
On the eNaira official website, it was revealed that the banks in the country have a significant role in the implementation of the currency. “Your Banks are waiting to assist you in validating and updating your BVN details to ensure seamless enrolment to the eNaira Platform. Remember Your BVN details is YOUR Personal Information, Do not disclose to Anyone.”
Nigerians React to News of eNaira Launch
With Nigeria only hours away from the launch of its eNaira digital currency, crypto enthusiasts within the country have begun giving their views and opinions about the project already.
One popular Twitter user, @Oloye__ wrote that the Nigerian government had banned crypto earlier in the year but turned around to launch something similar.
In his words, “eNaira is crypto. The same crypto that the CBN barred banks from facilitating. Which makes it difficult for people who have been scammed through crypto transactions to file a complaint with their banks and exposes them to financial loss. How hypocritical can the CBN get?”
Other Twitter users expressed delight with the launch with some of them going on to test the eNaira applications – eNaira speed wallet and eNaira merchant wallet – that are already available for download on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.