The apex bank in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not been able to provide a structural and regulatory framework that will guide and oversee the blockchain technology and all cryptocurrency activities around the country. The failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide a structure and platform for monetary services and financial transactions using the blockchain technology has discouraged investments and prospective cryptocurrency startups in the country.
Most of the investments which is meant for the country has been diverted and pushed to some other African countries and areas where blockchain technology is being regulated and appreciated. A good example of such is Malta and Rwanda.
As a result of this, Nigeria is said to be losing a lot of money since it is not able to meet up with the regulation of financial technology especially the type of services which are delivered and made possible with the aid of the blockchain technology.
Generally, in the African continent, the word ‘Blockchain’ seems strange to most people because a lot of persons are yet to be acquainted and familiarized with it. It is just recently that the blockchain technology started gaining grounds in Nigeria and some other countries in Africa.
Even when it was professed and stated that the Blockchain technology has a great potential of stepping into the nearest future to spark a great revolution all over the world, still yet, some African countries are yet to consider this, take action and take advantage of this opportunity. Many others do not deem it fit to know how cryptocurrency can be integrated into the financial system of their country and use it to transform other sectors of the economy.
Unlike before, so many African countries retraced their steps at the mention of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency mining, Forex trading and anything that has to do with making money online; because they labeled it as a scam and time wasting opportunity. But now, Africa has been advancing and showing potential signs of development in the world of blockchain technology.
Investments in the blockchain technology are being made in countries like Malta and Rwanda because both countries provide and maintain a regulatory framework that guides and controls the operators of the technology. With so much investment made by foreign investors for cryptocurrency going to Malta, this means that Nigeria is left behind because it is yet to have a proper regulation in the blockchain technology.
So many countries like Switzerland who took up the opportunity in the blockchain industry, is today, reaping and getting benefits. Nigeria is one of the biggest countries in Africa, so many Africa countries look up to Nigeria to make a move but its quite pathetic that the country is yet to build a platform that would regulate any activity done in the blockchain network.
Blockchain ensures that there is record and storage of data, financial transactions and even activities. Banks are not meant to be the only financial institution in Nigeria but if truly, a regulation is adopted for blockchain technology in Nigeria, it would indeed have a great impact upon the financial and capital market.