Godwin
Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says investing
in virtual currencies such as bitcoin is a “risk that cannot be
supported” by the apex bank.
Speaking
in an interview in Abuja, Emefiele highlighted the “dangers” in bitcoin
trading, saying he had commissioned the bank to carry out research into
the market to understand underlying issues.
“Cryptocurrency or bitcoin is like a gamble, and there is a need for everybody to be very careful,” he said.
“We cannot as a central bank give support to situations where people risk savings to gamble.
“I have asked my
colleagues in the research and monetary-policy department to study the
market and get to know what the issues are.
“The central bank may in future make some very concrete pronouncements as to the direction.
Earlier in January, the central bank had released a statement advising Nigerians to desist from the use of such currencies.
(The Cable )