Nigeria CBDC Tracker

Nigeria is in the launch phase. The Central Bank of Nigeria launched its CBDC (the eNaira) in 2021. The Nigerian CBDC made headlines in 2022, but not due to its success. Rather, adoption was stuck at 0.5 percent. The central bank lowered the requirements for access and introduced discounts in response, but people still preferred cash over the CBDC. The central bank then suddenly announced it was taking cash out of circulation to replace it with newly designed notes. A cash shortage erupted. Lines outside banks turned to protests, and those protests turned to riots.

Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele said, “The destination, as far as I am concerned, is to achieve a 100% cashless economy in Nigeria,” and later remarked that the experience was a success as adoption grew from 0.5 percent to 6 percent. However, the International Monetary Fund later reported in May 2023 that 98.5 percent of the wallets issued have never been used. Emefiele has since been arrested on charges of corruption. Since then, the CBDC has not been a priority for the central bank. However, current governor Olayemi Cardoso said the central bank would reevaluate the CBDC in 2025.

CBDC History and Development

The Central Bank of Nigeria began researching CBDCs in 2017. At an event, Central Bank of Nigeria official Stephen Ambare said that research led to the announcement in June 2021 that the central bank would launch a CBDC. A project team was created, objectives were formulated, and the central bank searched for a technical partner.

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched its CBDC (the eNaira). Nigeria’s CBDC is an intermediated CBDC where banks and other financial institutions act as a third party between citizens and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Citizens are primarily able to access the CBDC through the eNaira Speed Wallet mobile app. Transactions are executed using a software platform developed by Bitt Inc. This platform uses Hyperledger Fabric as the underlying ledger.

The regulatory guidelines restricted what people could spend and how much people could own based on the amount of personal information they are willing to supply. The first tier requires a passport photo, name, place of birth, date of birth, gender, address, and telephone number. Providing this information allows people to spend N20,000 ($48) a day and hold up to N120,000($288). The next tier requires the same information provided for the first tier, but the information must also be verified against national databases. Getting verified increases the daily spending limit and holding limit to N50,000 ($120) and N300,000 ($720), respectively. The limits for customers can be raised further, but the central bank did not explain how.

As far as merchants are concerned, there are no limits to spending or holding. However, merchants must have existing accounts with banks that were already identified and verified. When opening the CBDC account, merchants must provide their tax identification number, the bank verification number of the managing director or CEO, and an email address.

Early adopters were not impressed. After opening a CBDC wallet, Mayowa Tijani said, “I just did not see any use that was beyond what the normal naira or bank apps would do.” Similarly, Maryam Ahmad said, “I opened it to know if there will be any benefit in the long run for using it but I later found out that there was no difference with it and the online banking transactions I do with my bank.” Reviews in the Google and Apple app stores show similar frustrations.

In 2022, the CBDC had largely been considered a failure because it only had an adoption rate of 0.5 percent. The Nigerian government initially tried to encourage use through modest measures. In August 2022, restrictions were removed so that bank accounts were no longer required to use the CBDC. Furthermore, the CBDC was integrated into the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. Then, in October, discounts were offered if people used the CBDC to pay for cabs. Yet, adoption remained low.

During an event hosted by the Bank of Namibia in September 2022, Central Bank of Nigeria official Stephen Ambare delivered a presentation on the Nigerian experience with its CBDC. He said the central bank’s vision was to “transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy providing quality of life and digital economies to all.” When asked what impact the CBDC has had on the public, Ambare did not offer a direct answer. Another question came up about how the CBDC has had an impact on financial inclusion, but Ambare did not provide an answer.

With adoption still struggling, Central Bank of Nigeria deputy governor Kingsley Obiora said that all the eNaira needs is a “a little push from the government.” By December 2022, the Nigerian government created a cash shortage for the country’s 220 million citizens. This shortage resulted in protests and riots as people rejected the CBDC and called for cash to be restored. Still, central bank governor Godwin Emefiele said, “The destination, as far as I am concerned, is to achieve a 100% cashless economy in Nigeria” and later remarked that the experience was a success as adoption grew from 0.5 percent to 6 percent. However, the International Monetary Fund later reported in May of 2023 that 98.5 percent of the wallets issued have never been used.

Going back to the drawing board, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced it was in the process of seeking out new technology partners to revamp its CBDC. Initial talks were reportedly conducted with the company R3. However, sources also said that the Central Bank of Nigeria was not immediately planning to replace Bitt Inc—the original developer. Later that year, the central bank announced that it was making changes to the CBDC to improve its use. For example, it was reported that the CBDC was upgraded to offer contactless payments.

In October 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a press release to declare: “eNaira No Threat to Financial Stability.” The press release was issued because the central bank published a book on digital currencies that said, “CBDCs can affect existing financial market structures and business models, thus, posing risks to financial stability, particularly via the disintermediation of banks.”

In March 2024, the company Gluwa announced that “After years of relentless effort, Gluwa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to officially onboard as a Partner Agent and help drive the increased adoption of Nigeria’s CBDC, also known as eNaira.”

Also in March 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria published new data on the CBDC. The amount of CBDC in circulation rose from N2.55 billion ($1,589,831) at the end of December 2022 to N12.53 billion ($7,811,993). This increase put the total amount of CBDC at 0.37 percent of all currency in circulation. In other words, physical cash made up 99.63 percent of the currency in circulation.

Speaking at an event in November 2024, Central Bank of Nigeria governor Olayemi Cardoso said the central bank would reevaluate the CBDC in 2025. Cardosa said the CBDC “holds significant growth potential.” He did not explain what he envisioned.

In February 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria published new data on the CBDC. The amount of CBDC in circulation increased to N18.31 billion ($11,415,611). The total amount of CBDC remained at 0.37 percent of all currency in circulation. (Note: There appears to be a typo in the publication where the text says N0.18 trillion, but the figure says N18 billion. It is assumed that the latter is correct.)

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Nigeria earned a 43 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. Corruption and oppression are key concerns for the country. However, as one of the few countries with a CBDC (the eNaira), there are also concerns surrounding the government creating a cash shortage to spur CBDC adoption.

“The government has attempted to reduce corruption in public and private institutions, but the practice remains pervasive,” according to Freedom House. In fact, one official was accused of stealing more than $190 million. Furthermore, former Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele (the governor who oversaw the creation of the Nigeria CBDC) was ousted for corruption in 2023. The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

Silencing dissent is another issue for the country. According to Amnesty International, the Nigerian government regularly steps in to arrest activists, shut down protests, and coerce journalists—particularly when the “offense” is being critical of the government itself. For example, Nigerian authorities sentenced Abdullahi Musa Huseini to six months in prison for throwing cash in the air during his wedding celebration. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been increasingly cracking down on the celebration saying that it is disrespectful to the naira and thus violates the 2007 Central Bank of Nigeria Act. In another case, authorities banned the song “Tell Your Papa” by Eedris Abdulkareem because the song criticizes President Bola Tinubu. Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used as another tool in this effort. Across the world, governments have often turned to freezing and seizing the money of activists, political rivals, and protestors to undermine the opposition. A CBDC would make such initiatives easier by allowing governments to take direct control of each citizen’s finances.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.