Nigeria SEC plans to delist Naira from all P2P Crypto Trading Platforms
The Securities and Exchange Commission in Nigeria has announced plans to remove the naira from all peer-to-peer cryptocurrency (P2P) platforms in an effort to combat dollar racketeers and exchange rate manipulators.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in Nigeria aims to support the Central Bank of Nigeria's efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market by working towards removing the naira from all peer-to-peer networks. pic.twitter.com/ROhUiFyoHD
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) May 6, 2024
According to a local news outlet, Punch Nigeria, Emomotimi Agama, the recently appointed Director General of the Commission, revealed the government's most recent plan on Monday during a virtual meeting with blockchain stakeholders.
Agama stated that the development took place in the context of the Federal Government of Nigeria's recent efforts to regulate the country's estimated $57 billion cryptocurrency market and address the manipulation of the value of the local currency in the foreign exchange market.
The SEC Director General further said that new rules governing the cryptocurrency industry are presently being drafted by the government.
P2P platform operators are accused of manipulating the value of the naira and the exchange rate. “That is one of the things that must be done to save this space: the delisting of the naira from the P2P platforms to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening. I want your cooperation in dealing with this as we roll out regulations in the coming days,” Agama told the members of the local crypto community.
He further explained the new regulations to be implemented during the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCON), stating that “as we implement the regulations that will take control of these areas in the coming days, I would like to ask for your assistance in handling this. We want to guarantee that this management will expedite the licensing of individuals or organizations that need to register with the SEC. We assure that we will provide direction when required and work hard to simplify the procedures to make them easier.”
He pleaded with those involved in sharp practices that undermine the national interest to cease and desist.
Agama said, “It is in our interest as a people to protect what belongs to us. We encourage you to reach out to us by naming and shaming the bad actors. Together, I am confident that we can weed out bad actors and harness the immense potential of this progressive technology for the benefit of all Nigerians in tandem with this government’s renewed hope agenda.”
This announcement is coming a few days after payment service banks were instructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to caution their customers against performing cryptocurrency transactions.
Fintech businesses that facilitate cryptocurrency transactions will be directly impacted by the new regulation. Popular fintech companies in Nigeria, including Moniepoint, Paga, and Palmpay, have already been ordered to stop offering cryptocurrency trading accounts.
On May 3, Techcabal, a leading tech news platform, reported that Nigeria is planning to ban P2P cryptocurrency trading due to concerns about national security.
In recent months, Nigeria's regulatory bodies have been investigating and closely examining cryptocurrency exchanges. The largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, discontinued its naira services on March 8. This is followed by a Whaleinsider.news report that local exchange OKX has already stopped offering naira services.
According to Chainalysis, an international blockchain analysis company with headquarters in the United States, Nigeria saw a nine percent year-over-year increase in the volume of cryptocurrency transactions, reaching $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023.
The Nigerian crypto community has expressed their concerns on social media platforms over the negative impact of these decisions by the government.
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