The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restricted the way operators withdraw from crypto accounts, News About Nigeria reports.
The apex bank disclosed that cash withdrawals will no longer be made from accounts that have been opened for virtual and digital asset transactions.
According to CBN, operators will only be able to withdraw from these accounts by transfer or through a manager’s cheque.
All these, including using the accounts for transactions on virtual and digital assets and not for any other purpose, are part of the new guidelines on operations of bank accounts for virtual asset service providers that were released by the Central Bank.
According to the new guidelines, no third-party cheque will be cleared from the account, and withdrawals will only be through a managers’ cheque or transfer to an account, except in a situation where digital asset transactions are done through a transfer to another designated account.
Recall that the Central Bank, in a circular it issued in December 2023, announced a change in the policy on crypto assets and directed banks and other financial institutions to begin to aid crypto transactions.
The Apex Bank has also stated that it leans more towards the regulation of crypto in the country than its earlier stand on the restriction of crypto assets from the formal banking sector.
The bank maintained that the guideline will serve as the framework for the reintroduction of crypto into the formal banking sector, adding that it is under the regulatory purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
