Since its inception in October 2021, the digital currency eNaira in Nigeria has reportedly attracted 270,000 users and recorded transactions total N4 billion (about $10 million), as reported by Cryptoslate.
During an eNaira hackthon on August 18, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele hailed the accomplishments made by the digital currency. Emefiele declared,” “Since the launch of this great initiative, the e-Naira has reached 840,000 downloads, with about 270,000 active wallets comprising over 252,000 consumer wallets and 17,000 merchant wallets.”
He added that 200,000 transactions totaling over N4 billion have been performed on the site. Out of the more than 200 million people living in the country, 8,000,000 active users are the aim of the project’s second phase, according to Emefiele.
Over 40% of Nigerians lack access to banking, therefore the central bank of Nigeria introduced the eNaira in October 2021 with the goal of accelerating financial inclusion. The project’s acceptance rate has been gradual, despite its lofty goals and noble intentions. Within a month of launch, 400,000 wallets had registered, thus it got off to a terrific start. According to a report from July, the network only had 700,000 registered wallets, which prevented widespread adoption, Cryptoslate noted.
The failure of the nation’s commercial banks to support the project is one of the factors slowing down adoption. Users of the eNaira can conduct transactions without paying a fee, which has a negative effect on commercial banks whose income comes from fees. Governor of CBN. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was looking at the potential of Nigeria’s digital currency at the time, forecasted the poor acceptance the e-Naira would experience in November.
(With insights from Cryptoslate)
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