Nigerian Federal High Court Approves eNaira CBDC Instigation

The Nigerian Federal High Court joins the budding list of regulators around the world to give assent to the rollout of a CBDC as a legal tender. Dubbed eNaira, the virtual asset will be issued by the central bank and supported by a homegrown eNaira wallet.

The aforementioned approval regarding issuance of CBDC by the Nigerian government was divulged in a federal court hearing held on 2nd October led by Justice Taiwo Abayomi Taiwo, as per a report published by Voice of Nigeria. The official eNaira website mentions that the digital version of the Nigerian currency will be made available without exception, mentioning “anybody can hold it.”

According to previous media reports, the roll out of the Nigerian CBDC was dedicated to marking the nation’s sixty first Independence Day. Notably, eNaira will continue to circulate alongside its fiat counterpart. Nevertheless, it is marketed as a quicker, inexpensive and more secure option for monetary transactions.

Supporting data from Chainalysis indicates that peer-to-peer platforms, banking limitations and fear of inflation have contributed to the budding market in Africa. As a result, the area continues to attract investments, with the latest leading to a fifteen million dollars Series A funding for Yellow Card digital asset exchange.

Interestingly, eNaira will continue to circulate alongside its fiat counterpart, promising a comparatively cheap option for monetary transactions.