The Nigerian Federal High Court has reportedly followed the footstep of many regulators globally, granting the regulatory greenlight for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a legal tender.

Specifically, the new CBDC – goes by the name “eNaira” – will reportedly have the central bank as the issuance entity, and facilitated by a homegrown eNaira wallet. 

Nigeria’s CBDC issuance go-ahead was reportedly disclosed via a federal court hearing, hosted on Oct. 2 led by Justice Taiwo Abayomi Taiwo. The official eNaira website revealed that the digital version of the Nigerian naira will be introduced publicly, where “anybody can hold it.”

Initially, the release of the Nigerian CBDC was reportedly to take place as a milestone for the nation’s 61st Independence Day. While the circulation of the eNaira will still happen alongside its fiat counterpart, it is boasted to have a higher speed, lower cost and greater security for monetary transactions.

It is reportedly crucial to note that the initiative to roll out digital naira also happened simultaneously with the falling value of the nation’s fiat currency, standing at its lowest point since 2003 at the moment. 

 Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania are reportedly the nations across the African continent experiencing the highest adoption rate for crypto, which contributed to the 1200% market surge between July 2020 and June 2021.

Insights generated by Chainalysis further revealed that peer-to-peer platforms, banking restrictions and fear of inflation are all driving factors leading to the market increase in Africa. Consequently, the area keeps on reeling in investments, with the most recent leading to a $15 million Series A funding for Yellow Card crypto exchange.