The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria on Friday released new regulations for the trading of cryptocurrency, NFTs and other digital assets in Nigeria.
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This is contained in a recently released document titled, “New Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms, and Custody of Digital Assets” essentially legalizing digital assets such as cryptocurrencies in Nigeria.
Experts also ask whether banks can now deal with crypto-related businesses given that some of the requirements can only be accomplished through banks. For banks to deal with crypto-related entities will only be possible if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gives them the go-ahead, which will mean the restrictions placed on the market have been lifted.
The regulation for example requires that applicants pay N100,000 for the filing or application fee, N300,000 for the processing fee, N30 million for the registration fee, and N100,000 for sponsored individuals fee. These fees are to be paid in a bank account operated by the SEC.
Following the restrictions placed by the CBN, bank accounts owned by crypto-related banks were closed on the directive of the apex bank. The CBN had gone as far as ordering banks to monitor transactions of individuals it considered crypto-exposed and close such accounts.
“How would we pay for the SEC registration fees?” asked an executive of one of the crypto exchanges.
Owen Odia, Country Manager for Nigeria at Luno, one of the global cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria, sees the SEC regulation as a positive step for the cryptocurrency market in Nigeria. According to her, the new regulations could mark a major breakthrough in not only delivering much-needed clarity and protection for crypto customers but also for businesses.
“Since launching in Nigeria in 2015, we’ve always prided ourselves on consistently adopting an open and proactive approach towards regulation and with the SEC’s new framework, our hope is that our current and potential users will have even greater confidence to trust us with their funds as we strengthen our push to raise the standards of our industry,” Odia said.
Luno currently has over 3 million customers in Nigeria and secures an average of more than 4,000 downloads of its app per day in the country alone. The company said it is registered with the NFIU and adheres to stringent Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money Laundering processes in all of its 40 operating countries.
How can one pay such whooping amount for registration, when you aren’t allowed to own up to such amount as a Nigerian youth? And they know quite well that crypto space is flooded with youths mostly.
Obviously, they are still looking for means to end crypto in this country, not just abolishing it