Nigerian crypto investors using peer-to-peer (P2P) services have expressed concerns about bank account flagging by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in relation to the $6.3 million Flutterwave hack. The CBN's decision to flag accounts has discouraged P2P users from interacting with various over-the-counter markets that allow trading of securities between two counterparties executed outside of formal exchanges and without the supervision of an exchange regulator. Investors across the world use P2P as a medium of direct exchange of crypto between parties without the involvement of a central authority. Despite strict crypto regulations by the CBN, the P2P market has aided Nigerian trade, but a financial analyst known as Sadeik calls it a black market hub for scammers laundering fraud funds. Flutterwave has denied the hack, stating that it identified an unusual trend of transactions on some users' profiles and immediately launched a review in line with its standard operating procedure, which revealed that some users who had not activated recommended security settings might have been susceptible.

(By AMAKA NWAOKOCHA)