Cryptocurrency Adoption Overshadows Interest in e-Naira
- Nigerians are abandoning the use of the newly launched e-Naira in favour of ever-roaring cryptocurrencies
- The e-Naira, which was launched last year October, saw brief adoption by Nigerians but soon faded as Nigerians choose cryptos
- Analysts say the inability of the CBN and the poor performance of the the Naira are to blame for decline of the e-Naira
The free-fall of the Nigerian currency, the Naira at both the official and parallel markets coupled with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s failure to pay adequate attention to Africa’s first CBDC, the e-naira has led to a majority of Nigerians abandoning the nascent digital currency.
Nairametrics report from Google Trends and corroborated by Legit.ng indicates that the interest of Nigerians in the e-Naira has waned over time since it was launched on October 25, 2021.
Source: UGC
Roaring interest at launch
From the date of the launch to the end of October last year, interest in e-Naira grew massively, overshadowing desires for cryptocurrencies.
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The eNaira was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria to lure Nigerians away from cryptos after it restricted banks from trading in them.
Interest in eNaira started to decline from October soon after the launch, while interest in bitcoin began to skyrocket.
Analysts believe that the eNaira fell abysmally short of expectations, leading Nigerians to fall back to trading in cryptos.
Declining interests in e-Naira
Statistics from Google Trends show how the e-Naira has fallen in regions before the launch.
According to the statistics, interest in eNaira was at 43 per cent as of October 20, 2o21, while interests in crypto stood at 41 per cent.
From March 20, 2022, Nigerians’ interest in eNaira stood at less than one per cent in comparison to the 43 per cent recorded at the time of launch in October last year.
Interests based on Regions
People in Yobe, Kano, Adamawa, Zamfara and Jigawa states are interested in the eNaira, while data show that people in Ebonyi, Anambra, Enugu and Akwa Ibom states are more interested in cryptocurrencies.
The premier crypto, bitcoin continues to dominate interests in Anambra, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo and Ebonyi states.
In February 2021, the CBN issued a reminder to deposit money banks and other financial institutions to deactivate accounts dealing in cryptocurrency. This led to a massive P2P adoption by Nigerians who have continued to see crypto as an escape from the naira that keeps falling.
eNaira acceptance drags as China’s equivalent gallops to N5.6 trillion transactions
Legit.ng has reported that Nigeria and Africa’s first digital currency, the eNaira have not had a good outing since it berthed in October last year.
Nigerians, however, have adopted a sceptical approach to the eNaira since it was launched as most people say they do not understand how the digital currency operates.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the digital currency, introduced to lure Nigerians away from cryptocurrency, completed close to N34,000 transactions amounting to about N188 million in different parts of the country yet, its acceptance by Nigerians has been a drag.
Source: Legit.ng
