The central-bank governor of Nigeria, where Bitcoin trading grew the most in Africa last year, said investing in the cryptocurrency is a \u201cgamble\u201d and hinted it may have to be regulated.<\/p>\n
\u201cCryptocurrency or Bitcoin is like a gamble, and there is a need for everybody to be very careful,\u201d Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele said in an interview on Wednesday at his office in the capital, Abuja.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot as a central bank give support to situations\u201d where people risk savings to \u201cgamble,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Emefiele is the latest among regulators globally to express concern about Bitcoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, because of high volatility and a perception that it facilitates crime. In January 2017, the central bank released a circular to lenders asking them not to use, hold, or trade virtual currencies pending \u201csubstantive regulation and or decision by the CBN.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, demand for the digital currency is surging in West Africa\u2019s biggest economy, with peer-to-peer transactions rising almost 1,500% this year, second only to China, according to data from LocalBitcoins.<\/p>\n
A Bitcoin wipe-out would generate the biggest losses in Russia, followed by New Zealand and Nigeria, according to a report published by Citigroup Inc. in December.<\/p>\n
UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday promised to consider clamping down on the cryptocurrency. Central banks in China and Russia have stopped local-exchange trading of Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have asked my colleagues in the research and monetary-policy department to study the market and get to know what the issues are,\u201d Emefiele said. The central bank may in future \u201cmake some very concrete pronouncements as to the direction,\u201d he said, without giving details.<\/p>\n