Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has said it has put on hold plans to regulate crypto-currencies in the country.
A statement issued by SEC on Thursday read in part “For the purpose of admittance into the SEC regulatory incubation framework, the assessment of all persons and products affected by the Central Bank Nigeria circular of February 5, 2021, is hereby put on hold until such persons are able to operate bank accounts within the Nigerian banking system”.
The exchange commission’s statement came days after Nigeria’s apex bank ordered financial institutions in the country to close accounts dealing in crypto-currencies, saying the transactions posed risks to the economy.
SEC said its statement was necessitated due to several comments and inquiries from the public that there is a conflict between the SEC Statement on Digital Assets and their Classification and Treatment of September 11, 2020, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Circular of February 5, 2021.
In September, SEC said it viewed crypto-currencies as exchangeable securities and it would regulate them to provide protection for investors and to ensure the transactions are transparent.
SEC said it made the statement at the time, to provide regulatory certainty within the digital asset space, due to the growing volume of reported flows while Central Bank has identified certain risks, which if allowed to persist, will threaten investor protection.
Nigeria has proven to be a hotspot for crypto-currency for apparent reasons ranging from tech adoption, predominant young population, high inflation rates to volatile fiat currency, and an underperforming banking sector.
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