The Senate yesterday asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to mount campaign against Bitcoin, a form of Crypto- currency scheme.
The resolution followed a motion by Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu (APC, Imo) on urgent need to investigate the proliferation of Bit-coin.
Senate urged the financial institutions to make an unequivocal statement across all news platforms in all dialects on the dangers of Bit-coin as a store of value in Nigeria.
It also called on the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to spread news against all forms of wonder banks and ponzi schemes operating in Nigeria.
Senate committee on banking and other financial institutions was given two weeks to investigate the viability of Bit-coin as form of investment, come up with recommendations on how to control its uses/ trade.
Moving the motion, Uwajumogu noted with deep concern, that Nigerians were freely advised and even persuaded to invest in this crypto currency, as it promised quick returns in certain instances, a triple or quadruple of the invested sum as profit within days.
“JP Morgan, the world renowned investment bank, in a conference held in New York City USA, and reported in the US guardian, noted that ”The digital currency (bit-coin) was only fit for drug dealers and would eventually blow up”, this reaffirmed the advice of the German Central Bank and the Reserve Bank of India against investing in Bit-coin.
“Bit-coin, is not recognized by the Central Bank, does not exist in any tangible form and is also not subject to any international or local monetary regulations, or backed up by any established government institution for that matter,” he said.
He recalled that the MMM bubble of 2016, left millions of Nigerian families broken, devastated and many business men lost all their capital in the phony scheme.
In his remark, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided the plenary session said any investment that promises quick return would only lead to destruction.
