In a statement released by the Commission on Wednesday, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), explained that the SEC had recently granted approval in principle to two cryptocurrency exchanges, giving Nigerian youths the chance to participate in the capital market.
Agama further stated that the initiative is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision to involve Nigerian youths more actively in the financial markets and that the decision to approve the crypto exchanges stems from the need to create an inclusive financial ecosystem that takes advantage of the growing interest in digital assets among the national youth.
Responding to global trends
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Busha Digital Ltd. and Quidax Technologies Ltd. received “approval-in-principle” from the SEC on Thursday to start operating under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP).
During a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, SEC Director General Emomotimi Agama said that it was crucial to establish a framework that would increase the involvement of young people and other Nigerians in the market, in keeping with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s aim to interact with the country’s youth.
The SEC DG stated, “It is imperative that we respond appropriately; as a nation, we cannot ignore the worldwide phenomenon that is starting to take form. The SEC, as a future-looking institution, is poised to ensure that we are in the league of countries that do what is needed.
“As much as possible, we are building talents to be able to deal with the challenges that these asset classes could bring to our shores. A lot of young Nigerians are fully involved in it, and we cannot shut the door against them. Rather, Mr. President intends to have them included in the capital market; that is why we are ensuring that there is regulation and no one is hurt at the end of the day. That’s our responsibility at the SEC by protecting investors and developing the market”.
Agama said that many youthful Nigerians are already heavily engaged in cryptocurrency trading, and the SEC wants to incorporate them into the official capital market rather than exclude them.
He went on to say that the SEC is concentrated on ensuring strong laws to safeguard investors and grow the market since President Tinubu wants to involve young Nigerians in the capital market.
Cautious Approach to Legal Compliance
He pointed out that the SEC is taking cautious action to ensure that cryptocurrency exchanges don’t represent a serious threat to investors or the US economy.
According to Agama, the commission’s Virtual Assets Service Providers Regulation, which was created to comprehend the particular characteristics of cryptocurrency exchanges and the larger digital financial ecosystem, gave rise to the commission’s authority over digital asset exchanges.
He continued that the approval-in-principle given to Quidax Technologies and Busha Digital is part of a carefully monitored regulatory trial.
It is a controlled experiment in which companies that have applied meet the fit and proper person test and other regulatory guidelines. The companies are invited into a regulatory incubation where they are understudied. He emphasized that the commission has yet to license any exchange outright but has provided approval in principle.
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