THE Senate, yesterday began probe into the proliferation of
digital currency, bitcoin, and ponzi schemes in Nigeria.
Senate Chamber The
Senate has mandated mandated the Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, APC, Kwara
South-led Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to
investigate the viability of bitcoin as a form of investment, come up with
recommendations on how to control its uses/trade, and report to the Senate
within two weeks. The upper chamber also asked the governor of Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, the Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit
Insurance Commission, NDIC and the Management of Securities and Exchange
Commission, SEC to make an unequivocal statement across all the news platforms
in all dialects on the dangers of bitcoin as a store of value in Nigeria. It
called on the National Orientation Agency, NOA to spread the news against all
forms of wonder banks and Ponzi schemes operating in Nigeria. In a motion
titled; ‘Urgent need to investigate the proliferation of bitcoin, a form of
Crypto-currency, to ascertain the worthiness of same as a form of investment in
Nigeria’, the senate stressed that not only has the proliferation of bitcoin
become one of the best forms of investment in the country, it is openly
marketed across the country on the local television and radio stations, mostly
to Nigerians, “not aware of the consequences.” A senator, Benjamin
Uwaiumogu(APC, Imo North), who sponsored the motion, expressed concern that
Nigerians were “freely advised, and even persuaded to invest in crypto-currency
as it promises quick returns, in certain instances, a triple or quadruple of
the invested sum as profit within days.” He said Google quoted one bitcoin to
be the equivalent of N5, 706, 713.20 as at December 10, 2018. Acording to him;
he said he is aware that ‘’bitcoin is not recognised by the Central Bank of
Nigeria, does not exist in any tangible form and is also not subject to any
international or local monetary regulations, or backed up by any established
government institutions for that matter.’’ The lawmaker also reminded the
senate that the MMM bubble of 2016 (ponzi scheme) left millions of Nigerian
families broken, devastated and many businessmen lost all their capital in the
phony scheme. A ponzi scheme is an investment opportunity that promises quick
returns usually without any identifiable product or service rendered. It
usually thrives on network marketing structures. “As Nigeria is recovering from
recession, it will be devastating for our citizens to lose their hard-earned
money on schemes they could easily have avoided had they been properly advised
by the government,” the lawmaker said. Mr. Uwajumogu lamented that the Central
Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission
and the National Orientation Agency are not doing enough to educate Nigerians
on the investment risks inherent in Bitcoin. He expressed worry that wonder
banks like Bitcoin traders, Swiss golden traders etc. have carried on their
businesses unchecked in Nigeria, mostly to the detriment of the citizens.
Contributing to the motion, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) urged Nigerians as
well as relevant intelligence agencies to learn from the MMM saga. “Many lost
their lives due to MMM. No country, no intelligence agency will allow financial.
THE Senate, yesterday
began probe into the proliferation of digital currency, bitcoin, and
ponzi schemes in Nigeria.
Senate Chamber
The Senate has mandated mandated the Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, APC,
Kwara South-led Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial
Institutions to investigate the viability of bitcoin as a form of
investment, come up with recommendations on how to control its
uses/trade, and report to the Senate within two weeks.
The upper chamber also asked the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, Godwin Emefiele, the Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance
Commission, NDIC and the Management of Securities and Exchange
Commission, SEC to make an unequivocal statement across all the news
platforms in all dialects on the dangers of bitcoin as a store of value
in Nigeria.
It called on the National Orientation Agency, NOA to spread the news
against all forms of wonder banks and Ponzi schemes operating in
Nigeria.
In a motion titled; ‘Urgent need to investigate the proliferation of
bitcoin, a form of Crypto-currency, to ascertain the worthiness of same
as a form of investment in Nigeria’, the senate stressed that not only
has the proliferation of bitcoin become one of the best forms of
investment in the country, it is openly marketed across the country on
the local television and radio stations, mostly to Nigerians, “not aware
of the consequences.”
A senator, Benjamin Uwaiumogu(APC, Imo North), who sponsored the motion,
expressed concern that Nigerians were “freely advised, and even
persuaded to invest in crypto-currency as it promises quick returns, in
certain instances, a triple or quadruple of the invested sum as profit
within days.”
He said Google quoted one bitcoin to be the equivalent of N5, 706,
713.20 as at December 10, 2018.
Acording to him; he said he is aware that ‘’bitcoin is not recognised by
the Central Bank of Nigeria, does not exist in any tangible form and is
also not subject to any international or local monetary regulations, or
backed up by any established government institutions for that matter.’’
The lawmaker also reminded the senate that the MMM bubble of 2016 (ponzi
scheme) left millions of Nigerian families broken, devastated and many
businessmen lost all their capital in the phony scheme.
A ponzi scheme is an investment opportunity that promises quick returns
usually without any identifiable product or service rendered. It usually
thrives on network marketing structures.
“As Nigeria is recovering from recession, it will be devastating for our
citizens to lose their hard-earned money on schemes they could easily
have avoided had they been properly advised by the government,” the
lawmaker said.
Mr. Uwajumogu lamented that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Stock
Exchange, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission and the National
Orientation Agency are not doing enough to educate Nigerians on the
investment risks inherent in Bitcoin.
He expressed worry that wonder banks like Bitcoin traders, Swiss golden
traders etc. have carried on their businesses unchecked in Nigeria,
mostly to the detriment of the citizens.
Contributing to the motion, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) urged Nigerians
as well as relevant intelligence agencies to learn from the MMM saga.
“Many lost their lives due to MMM. No country, no intelligence agency
will allow financial
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/senate-probes-viability-of-bitcoin-as-form-of-investment/
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/senate-probes-viability-of-bitcoin-as-form-of-investment/
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