On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Defends Decision to Exclude Crypto Players, Says the Order Is ‘in the Best Interests of Nigerians’
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has defended the apex bank’s decision to exclude cryptocurrency transactions from the banking ecosystem. In his testimony before the Nigerian Senate, Emefiele claimed that the February 5 directive is “in the best interests of Nigerians.”
Crypto Not Money
Immediately following the announcement of the CBN prohibition, Nigeria’s regulated financial institutions began to sever ties with crypto traders and exchanges. However, following an outcry over the move, some supportive members of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions requested Emefiele to brief the legislative body on the rationale behind the CBN prohibition.
In justifying the move, the CBN governor told the Nigerian legislators that “cryptocurrency is not legitimate money” since it is not issued by any central bank. Using this argument, Emefiele then added:
Cryptocurrency has no place in our monetary system at this time and cryptocurrency transactions should not be carried out through the Nigerian banking system.
As expected, the CBN governor also used his appearance before the legislative body to regurgitate the usual claims against cryptocurrencies. Further, in his bid to bolster the case against cryptocurrencies, a report reveals that Emefiele went on to share “instances of investigated criminal activities that had been linked to cryptocurrencies.” However, the report does not provide details on some of the “investigated cases.”
No Contradictions Between CBN and the SEC
However, notwithstanding the CBN’s hardline stance on cryptocurrencies, Emefiele still claims that the central bank’s “actions were not in any way, shape or form inimical to the development of Fintech or a technology-driven payment system.” The CBN chief also reiterated that the central bank will do “all within its regulatory powers to educate Nigerians on emerging financial risks.”
Meanwhile, in remarks made during the same meeting, Lamido Yuguda, the Director-General of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied there had been policy contradictions between the two regulators. The report quotes Yuguda confirming that the SEC had “put on hold the admittance of all persons affected by CBN circular into its proposed regulatory incubatory framework.”
Do you agree with CBN’s claims that the exclusion of cryptocurrency transactions protects the banking ecosystem? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
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