Nigeria, Feb. 6 -- Since it was introduced over a decade ago, only about 30 of the world's 196 countries have embraced and expressed a positive stance towards cryptocurrency usage in their economies.

While the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and the European Union (27 countries) have accepted its usage by working to prevent or reduce the use of digital currencies for illegal transactions, cryptocurrencies remain banned in China, Russia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Columbia, and Ecuador.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has repeatedly warned banks about cryptocurrency transactions.

The apex bank on Friday directed banks in the country to close all cryptocurrency-related accounts.

"Further to earlier regulatory directives on the subject, ...