Nigerian Regulator SEC to crackdown on Unregulated Cryptocurrency Firms

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria plans to begin pursuing legal action against companies and individuals engaged in unregulated transactions involving cryptocurrency, according to a report by a local news outlet, Nairametrics.

According to the announcement on September 9, the enforcement will include cryptocurrency exchanges that operate in Nigeria without following the necessary rules. This was said in a statement released on Sunday by SEC Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama, who emphasized that the commission is committed to protecting all investors.

Dr. Agama said that Nigeria will be taking action against organizations that try to provide cryptocurrency services without proper regulation. SEC DG further explained that his firm will not permit anyone who refuses to follow the rules to operate within our space.

He pointed out that the growing interest of young Nigerians in digital assets was the driving force behind the approval of two cryptocurrency exchanges recently.

The first provisional operating licenses for the two local cryptocurrency exchanges, Busha Digital and Quidax Technologies, were granted by the Nigerian securities regulator on August 29. Although there are several other SEC-approved companies in Nigeria that deal with digital assets, Busha and Quidax are the only exchanges that are presently under official supervision, as stated on the regulator's website.

The Nigerian regulator commission's Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP) authorized both exchanges. The four additional platforms that offer digital assets and are accepted into the program are HousingExhange.NG Ltd., Dream City Capital, Trovotech Ltd., and Wrapped CBDC Ltd. It further stated that additional applications are being evaluated and, if they meet all requirements, will be considered for approval on a case-by-case basis.

Dr. Agama said that it is important to establish a transparent regulatory framework that safeguards investors and promotes innovation. Providing a clear regulatory framework that safeguards investors and promotes innovation is crucial, says Dr. Agama.

Full disclosure, anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) guidelines were emphasized as important components of the SEC's supervision in the cryptocurrency industry.

Agama revealed that the SEC had received many applications for cryptocurrency exchanges, but he made it clear that the number of exchanges that would be registered would depend on how well they could adhere to the strict regulations set forth by the commission.

We want to accomplish all of these without impeding innovation because one of the SEC's main responsibilities is market development, according to Agama. In order to make sure that people involved in the cryptocurrency space are well-informed and operate within the law, he underlined the importance of education and a guided regulatory framework.

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