The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said from September, there would be a law to take care of existing gaps in revenue collection, including providing a legal and regulatory framework for the operation of cryptocurrency.

Executive Chairman of the service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, said the country can no longer run away from cryptocurrency, a form of digital currency exchange which is an alternative form of payment using encryption algorithm.
Amidst calls for the regulatory framework as the cryptocurrency business evolves, the FIRS boss said the service is working on latching unto that space to boost its revenue collection in its new law.
He spoke in Lagos during a stakeholders’ engagement with the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Finance organised by the Intergovernmental Relations Department.
The theme of the engagement was “Repositioning the FIRS to achieve its mandate.”
According to the Chairman, cryptocurrency has become a global payment system which Nigeria must embrace in a manner that would not be injurious to the economy of the country.
This is why he stated that the new law would be in place to capture crypto regulations and also address other gaps in the existing laws like the Stamp Duty which has become outdated.
He said, “The plan first is to have the law that regulates it and that is why we are here with the legislators which would be the base of charging as it’s done in other places in the world when you have this new innovation or system you just have to get ready for it. You can’t go away from it, you just have to plan to regulate it in such a way that it is not injurious to the economic development of Nigeria.”
He stated that for instance, the country is still using a Stamp Duty law of 1939 when there were no states or local governments.
“That is one reason why Mr. President set up the Tax and Fiscal Reform Committee to change and check all these laws. By God’s grace the new law will come by September and all those concerns will be addressed,” he added.
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The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 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.
In an interview today on Bloomberg, Nigerian SEC Chief Emomotimi Agama reiterated his commitment to regulating cryptocurrency in Nigeria for the sake of young Nigerians who are neck deep into the industry.
“Being a crypto enthusiast and fintech enthusiast, I can tell you without doubt that this is going to happen sooner than you think.”
“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,”

Fast-growing crypto economy 
Nigeria has one of the fastest-growing crypto economies in the world with a very high demand for crypto assets. This statistic has forced the hand of the Central Bank of Nigeria to lift restrictions on Nigerian banks facilitating cryptocurrency transactions after a ban that lasted for two years.
The Apex bank stated that it was improper to continue upholding stringent measures in a sector that is growing so fast and has massive potential.
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.
Crypto entities delist Naira peer-to-peer 
Following the crackdown on crypto entities earlier this year, top exchanges have closed down Naira P2P and Naira withdrawals on their platforms.
Big crypto exchanges like OKX and Binance have delisted their Naira p2p trading following accusations of currency manipulation and money laundering from Nigerian Authorities.
The Nigerian SEC in its latest move to issue licenses to crypto exchanges is a 360-turnaround in policy following earlier crackdowns on crypto entities.
The SEC chief explained in his Bloomberg interview that the regulatory body wants to provide a platform where crypto dealings will be transparent and devoid of bad actors.
“The SEC wants to provide a platform where people can formally 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.
What to know : The Nigerian authorities are still locked in a spat with Binance Ltd over claims of money laundering and tax evasion. Tigran Gambaryan a Binance executive is still been detained by Nigerian authorities at the time of the report.
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