Nigeria's Central Bank Denies Crypto Freeze; Mt. Gox Payout May Destabilize Market; Tether to block Venezuelan Sanction Evaders
Summary:
Nigeria's Central Bank denied issuing a directive to freeze cryptocurrency-related accounts. Meanwhile, analysts predict potential market instability due to the approximate $9 billion expected to be returned to Mt. Gox creditors. Tether confirms plans to freeze assets and addresses bypassing Venezuelan oil sanctions.
A directive was reportedly released by Nigeria's Central Bank aiming to identify and freeze accounts of users of various cryptocurrency exchanges by banks and other financial institutions. However, the bank later refuted these claims. In relation to Mt. Gox creditors, an estimated $9 billion is expected to be returned, a move K33 analysts anticipate might unsettle the market. Furthermore, Tether has made it clear to Cointelegraph that it intends to block all addresses attempting to circumvent Venezuelan sanctions.
A directive requiring identification and freezing of cryptocurrency-related transactions rumored to be issued by Nigeria's Central Bank (CBN) was later denied, causing some controversy. A Post No Debit (PND) instruction, which bars the account holder from making payments or withdrawing from the affected account, was supposed to follow the alleged directive, according to reports. The CBN had previously uplifted a ban on banking dealings with digital currencies, but swiftly disabled websites offering crytocurrency services due to a sharp depreciation of naira and a high inflation rate.
Analysts at K33 Research anticipate that the possible return of more than $9 billion of Bitcoin from the Mt. Gox era to its users in the next few weeks might shock the market and potentially cause a drop in BTC's price. K33 researchers Anders Helseth and Vetle Lund suggest these updates on claims being reported by Mt. Gox creditors might indicate a return of Bitcoin as early as May. Although releasing Bitcoin doesn't necessarily create selling pressure, the impending return of 142,000 BTC and 143,000 BCH could unsettle the market, they warn.
Tether confirmed plans to block assets and addresses of entities using USDT (USDT) to evade Venezuelan oil sanctions. They pledged to aid in the immediate freezing of sanctioned addresses and disallow payment to sanctioned entities, such as Venezuela's official oil company, PDVSA. This is in response to the call by the U.S. Treasury Department for PDVSA customers to halt transactions by the end of May amid claims of Venezuela's failure to implement electoral reforms. Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, has insisted on the need for competition to increase the credibility of stablecoins to regulators.
This article does not intend to provide investment advice or recommendations. Trading and investments always involve inherent risks, and individual research should precede decisions.
Further reporting provided by Geraint Price, Sam Bourgi, and Felix Ng.
Published At
4/24/2024 3:41:47 PM
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