Yemi Osinbajo, vice president, has encouraged central banks all around the world to use blockchain technology.
Osinbajo made the statement on Monday in Abuja while delivering the keynote presentation at the third Nigeria Digital Economy Summit (NDES).
Web 3.0, Blockchain, and DeFi: Impact of Africa’s Digital Economy served as the theme for the summit.
Osinbajo warned that if blockchain technology was not integrated into the system, it might destabilise central banks globally by allowing digital information and transactional records to be securely kept and transferred.
He asked the CBN in particular to expand the scope of banking licences in order to include more participants in the value chain of financial mediation.
He said, “From a policy perspective here in Nigeria, we may need to again expand the range of banking licenses available to enable more players in the financial mediation value chain.
“Even central banks all over the world will have to rethink their roles since blockchain will challenge the centralisation of monetary authority with its clear imperfections.
“Who knows? We might actually be in the last days of the central banking system as we know it.
“It is either the central banking systems all over the world will adopt blockchain technology, or they will be taken over by blockchain technology.
“We are certainly, in my own view, in the last of the central banking system; which means the space is open for all sorts of innovation in the central banking space.’’
The Vice President added that clear rules must be set to support crypto markets and trading in other digital assets.
