By Obafemi Oredein
Special to Dow Jones Newswires
IBADAN, Nigeria--Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday launched its digital currency eNaira, the first of its kind to be unveiled in Africa.
Mr. Buhari said the new cryptocurrency will foster economic growth, estimating that it should boost GDP by $29 billion over the next 10 years.
"It is on this basis that I am delighted to officially launch the CBN digital currency called the eNaira and in so doing we have become the first country in Africa and one of the first in the world to introduce a digital currency to her citizens," Mr. Buhari said.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said that there has been significant interest in the digital currency since the eNaira platform went live, with over 2.5 million visits to its website.
"Thirty-three banks are fully integrated and live on the platform, 500 million has been successfully minted by the bank, 200 million Nigerian naira ($486,044) has been issued to financial institutions, over 2,000 customers have been onboarded and over 120 merchants have successfully registered on the eNaira platform," he said.
The CBN has partnered with global fintech Bitt Inc. to develop its digital currency.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-25-21 1207ET
