In Nigeria, commercial banks accept begun monitoring accounts that appear to be utilized for cryptocurrency trading.

The activity is in response to an social club from the Cardinal Bank of Nigeria (CBN) demanding all commercial banks freeze accounts belonging to at least ii individuals engaged in cryptocurrency trading.

According to a report by local publication Leadership, an internal memo in i of the banks instructed employees to outset monitoring accounts with significant transaction volumes or those that are believed to be used for cryptocurrency trading. The memo, according to Leadership, reads:

"We wish to reiterate that the CBN is strictly monitoring not-compliance with the directive on the closure of all accounts involved in cryptocurrency for high touch regulatory sanction. In view of the above, all staff are hereby brash to place entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges within their systems and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately."

The document emphasized that employees who intentionally neglect to disclose an account's involvement in cryptocurrency trading would be penalized. All of the workers are at present required to participate in monitoring accounts, transactions and customers to guarantee that the bank is fully compliant with CBN requirements, as per the internal advice.

Accounts that could be flagged include those of fintech firms with a large volume of daily transactions without a payments license or whatever that incorporate cryptocurrencies in their memorandum or expression of business organization.

Personal accounts with large multi-day arrival and outflow, as well every bit pocket-size companies whose daily sales are more than what they should be, are also to be red-flagged. In add-on, accounts that receive a lot of coin from multiple payees and brand numerous payments to several beneficiaries will also be under suspicion.

The CBN claims in the alphabetic character, which began circulating on social media less than a week afterward the eNaira launched, that the accounts are being utilized for cryptocurrency trading and thus violate the cardinal bank'due south February. 5 lodge.

In a message on Twitter, Senator Ihenyen, who leads the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Clan of Nigeria, slammed the CBN's conclusion as illegal and unjust. According to Ihenyen, it is only the Nigerian legislature that has the authority to oversee Bitcoin (BTC) regulation.