Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele reportedly highly believes that crypto such as Bitcoin (BTC) will be able to obtain legal status in the nation. 

Specifically, during a 279th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, Emefiele did not talk about a reversal initiative regarding the CBN’s February prohibition of establishments from purchasing and selling crypto in a direct manner but shared that the bank has been carrying out investigations into the sector.

“We are committed to the CBN, and I can assure everybody that digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria […] Under cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, Nigeria comes 2nd, while on the global side of the economy, Nigeria comes 27th. We are still conducting our investigation, and we will make our data available.”

Emefiele further shared that the Nigerian authority is putting its best resources towards avoiding scenarios where crypto is involved in the financing of illegal activities. 

“We found out that a substantial percentage of our people are getting involved in cryptocurrency, which is not the best. Don’t get me wrong, some may be legitimate, but most are illegitimate,”

Emefiele further displayed some worries regarding the crypto market crash in May this year, which was primarily fueled by Tesla’s plan to halt Bitcoin payment for its cars and Elon Musk’s additional slam on BTC. 

“We saw the market collapse. Initially, when Elon Musk tweeted around the time when we said our banking and payment facilities are no longer available for cryptocurrency transactions, he tweeted that he will invest $1.5 billion, and the price went up. He now tweeted and raised a few concerns, and the thing plunged.”

Nigeria has reportedly been establishing its presence as the largest Africa-based source for Bitcoin trading volume, as of August last year, and also has a spot among the most rapidly-growing crypto markets globally.