Nigeria is in the launched phase. The Central Bank of Nigeria launched its CBDC, referred to as the eNaira, in 2021. However, the CBDC has failed to gain any meaningful adoption in the last two years.

CBDC History and Development

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched its CBDC (referred to as 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.

Citizens are limited in terms of both transactions and balances depending on how much personal information they are willing to supply. With only a phone number, citizens can open a CBDC wallet, but they are not allowed to spend more than around $26 a day and they are not allowed to own more than $156 in total CBDC.

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. Then, in October, it discounts were offered if people used the CBDC to pay for cabs. Yet, neither effort proved to be fruitful.

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.

In 2023, 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 2024, the company Gluwa announced, “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.”

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. 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. 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.