LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s markets regulator has revealed a set of rules for digital property, signalling Africa’s most populous nation is looking for a center floor between an outright ban on crypto property and their unregulated use.
Nigeria’s central financial institution final yr banned banks and monetary establishments from dealing in or facilitating transactions in digital currencies.
However the nation’s younger, tech-savvy inhabitants has eagerly adopted cryptocurrencies, for instance utilizing peer-to-peer buying and selling provided by crypto exchanges to keep away from the monetary sector ban.
Nigeria’s Securities and Change Fee (SEC) revealed the “New Guidelines on Issuance, Providing Platforms and Custody of Digital Belongings” on its web site.
The 54-page doc lays out registration necessities for digital property choices and custodians, and classifies the property as securities regulated by the SEC.
A central financial institution spokesperson didn’t reply calls to his cell phone.
The SEC mentioned no digital property alternate could be allowed to facilitate buying and selling of property until it had acquired a “no objection” ruling from the fee.
A digital property alternate shall be required to pay 30 million naira ($72,289) as a registration payment, amongst different charges.
In October, Nigeria launched a digital foreign money, the eNaira, within the hope of increasing entry to banking. Official digital currencies, in contrast to cryptocurrencies corresponding to bitcoin, are backed and managed by the central financial institution.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Enhancing by Mark Potter
