Nigerian Central Bank Says Amended CBDC Model to Ensure Increased Volumes and Wallet Activity

The Nigerian central bank has said it is amending the model of its central bank digital currency and is hopeful that such an exercise will result in “an increase in the volume and activity of wallet holders.” According to the acting governor, the central bank is also working towards making the forex market more “efficient and effective in the face of high demand for foreign exchange.”

CBDC Has Not Lived Up to Hype

The acting governor of the Nigerian central bank, Folashodun Shonubi, said on July 26 that his institution is working on amending the model of its digital currency. The objective of this exercise is “to ensure an increase in the volume and activity of wallet holders.” Shonubi, who is standing in for the suspended governor Godwin Emefiele, made the comments when the central bank’s monetary policy committee met for the second time this week.

CBN Ag. Governor, #Shonubi says the CBN is amending the current model of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the eNaira, to ensure an increase in the volume and activity of wallet holders

— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) July 26, 2023

The remarks are the latest acknowledgement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that its much-touted central bank digital currency has not lived up to hype. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in Oct. 2022, the CBDC, which is also known as the e-naira, was still widely snubbed by Nigerian residents more than a year after its launch. At the time, the central bank’s deputy governor Kingsley Obiora suggested that the digital currency needed “a little push from the government.”

Central Bank Says It Is Working Hard to Control Inflation

Earlier this year, the CBN was said to be searching for a new technology partner to replace the Barbados-based Bitt Inc. According to various media reports at the time, the Nigerian central bank’s objective was to find a technology which would allow it to exert greater control of the CBDC. In a tweet shared via the CBN’s official handle, Shonubi did not reveal when the process to amend the CBDC model is expected to end.

Meanwhile, the CBN’s acting governor also touched on the central bank’s ongoing effort to stabilize inflation.

“[The] Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee says the Bank is using every tool in the box to reduce liquidity and rein in inflation,” the bank said in a tweet.

Concerning the country’s foreign exchange crisis, which has now seen the local currency fall to a new all-time low, the CBN acting governor urged patience. He added that the central bank is working towards making the forex market more “efficient and effective in the face of high demand for foreign exchange.”

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