The Nigerian crypto community was hit with a massive blow some weeks back when the Central bank of Nigeria announced that banks should not service crypto exchanges. Citing various ills in the society, the central bank said it reminded the banks to be careful not to enable money laundering and other things.
Coming as a shock to them, most of the population showed their displeasure at the announcement, with the majority of them noting selfishness in the top echelons of the premier bank. Even though things are returning to normal, there are rumors that regulators are now making moves to establish a crypto-friendly rule in the coming days.
The SEC says the framework would help the adoption of crypto
According to a news outlet from the country, Premium Times, the Central bank has agreed to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission to develop a new law. The report claims that this new law would help increase the adoption of crypto. The report claims that the Central bank of Nigeria wants to create a useful framework for investments in the business while shielding investors from unprecedented losses in the sector.
In a recent meeting that took place virtually, the Chief of the SEC of the country, Timi Agama, mentioned that the country could not just automatically evade a budding market. He said Nigerians had seen the market’s potential, which is why most of them are flocking into the market as the days go by.
“We want to be able to create a framework that would be able to remove all the restrictions and help people trade safely like it is being done across the globe,” Agama said. He also mentioned that stopping crypto trading was like taking four steps backward while the whole world is moving into the future.
The CBN wants anonymity in crypto trading removed with the use of BVN
Agama also mentioned that crypto could better use for the country’s economic sector in terms of direct investment in foreign currencies. Recent data showed that about 26 states did not have a single investment from foreign entities throughout last year. With a need for cash influx into the country, trading crypto might be a way to balance out everything this year.
With Agama showing displeasure at the CBN’s actions, the financial policy director of the CBN, Kevin Amugo, thinks otherwise. Amigo mentioned that the ban was necessary for the entity to look into ways to eliminate the anonymity that crypto provides users. Amugo mentioned that if they are to roll out friendly laws, it would require crypto exchanges to abide by several anti-money laundering and know your customer laws.
He mentioned that they would use the bank verification number database to be able to know the identity of their users. Notably, most of the country exchanges have used this BVN to curb the growing anonymity in the sector. He said that they are working towards creating a framework with several government entities to provide optimum sector regulation.
