Nigeria’s SEC set to issue crypto exchange licenses to ‘support youths’
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Emomotimi Agama has revealed its plans to issue licenses to crypto exchanges in the country to complement the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country.
In June the Nigerian SEC launched a new program aimed at speeding up the registration process of Virtual Assets Providers (VASPS).
SEC also announced amendments to its rules on Digital Assets Issuance, offering platforms, Exchanges, and Custody.
Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg, Emomotimi Agama, SEC’s director-general, said the commission intends to issue first licences for digital service and tokenised assets this month.
“Being a crypto enthusiast and fintech enthusiast, I can tell you without doubt that this is going to happen sooner than you think,” Agama said.
“We must support the youths of this country to be able to achieve the benefit that is accruable in fintech. The market size is huge and it is growing.”
Agama said the SEC wants to provide a platform where people can formerly “do these things, and we are able to get all of the information that we need”.
What we will not encourage is the use of cryptocurrency to manipulate our currency,” Agama said.
In December 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) lifted the ban on cryptocurrency transactions.
Months after, the federal government clamped down on Binance, a crypto exchange over “regulatory breaches”.
The SEC, in May, announced plans to delist naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms — including Binance.
The commission said the decision was taken to avoid the level of “manipulation” happening in the cryptocurrency space.
He said the volume of crypto transactions in Nigeria would hit $52.5 million in 2028, indicating a 12.66 percent increase between 2024 and 2028.
Nigeria was named the second biggest economy in terms of crypto adoption last year and in August 2022 was named the most crypto-crazy country by volume of Google searches.
