Haleemat Bello

CLAIM

A post has it that central bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that crypto currency is a legal tender in Nigeria and therefore encouraged all Nigerians to make transactions with it in any bank. The claim also sited Union Bank as the bank accepting crypto currency.

WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?

There were many attempts to create a digital currency during the 90’s but they failed. After seeing all the centralized attempts fail, Satoshi Nakamoto the inventor of Bitcoin tried to create a digital cash system without a central entity. In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin which he described as a “peer – to – peer electronic cash system.” Crypto currencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and so on. Bitcoin is the first crypto currency.

Cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange. It express values in units and only exist as a data. It is not controlled by any authority and no authority can access the personal information of the owners. Cryptocurrency uses blockchain. The blockchain manage, record and stores all transactions.

The transaction isn’t finalized until it is added to the blockchain. once it is finalized, it is not reversible. Every cryptocurrency holder has a private key that authenticates their identity and allows them to exchange their units and without the key, the holder can’t spend their crypto currency.There are no trusted third party in crypto currency and users are in complete control of their information and money at all times. Cryptocurrency doesn’t have the same protection as money in a bank account.

ROUNDCHECK FINDINGS
In a chat with union bank customer care service, their agent said the information should be disregarded as it is not from Union Bank

They advised that customers should always look out for typos or grammatical error to spot fake messages from potential scammers and fraudsters.

Here are tips on how to spot fake messages/emails from potential scammers and fraudsters:

Look out for typos or grammatical errors in the message.

Cross-check the contact details or social media handles. pic.twitter.com/SK4RpLdep1

— Union Bank of Nigeria (@UNIONBANK_NG) September 3, 2020

CONCLUSION

The information is FALSE and should be completely disregarded.