Crypto traders and investors on the Nigerian scene would still have to wait and pray for the overturn of the recent CBN regulations as regards crypto. The central bank of Nigeria surprised everyone in the space some days ago. It released a memo barring financial institutions from working with institutions and personal outfits to trade or store digital assets.
There were rumors about accounts being closed down by several banks in the country, citing the new regulation by the apex bank in the country. Even though the Nigerian senate has summoned the bank’s governor, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest details have dealt crypto users a huge blow.
The commission initially wanted to regulate the sector before the crypto ban
Before the new regulation came into place, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission was moving to roll out regulations to guard the sector. But with the latest update by the central bank of Nigeria, the outfit has announced that its plans to regulate the sector are now on hold till further notice. In an email that was shared by the commission some days ago, the regulatory body said that it has decided to put its new framework, which will see them enroll and register various entities and individuals dealing in crypto into their database, on hold for the time being.
According to the SEC, the regulation that it was planning before the CBN update would only be effective if the traders and investors of digital assets owned accounts in the country, something that the new update has deprived them. A previous report that the committee rolled out towards the tail end of last year noted that it duly recognized digital assets and was working on ways to endure that the sector was regulated adequately.
House of senate divided over the recent CBN directive
According to the SEC, even though it released the memo, which stated that it wants to regulate the sector back in September, the Central bank’s new update trounces its previous stand. This came after numerous stakeholders across the country asked about the way forward as regards its previous intention to regulate the space.
In their statement, the outfit noted that the plan to regulate firms and entities that are not dealing in digital assets would continue according to its previous plan as there would be no need to postpone or put it on hold. The recent crypto regulation has been met with a wide range of opinions as most of the political elites want the digital assets banned completely.
In the circular, the central bank noted that criminal elements in the country were beginning to adopt the assets to carry out their malicious acts. In the senate meeting that took place last Thursday, various members asked the central bank to roll out a regulation to guard the space instead of killing it off like that. Notably, Nigeria was already second place, a stretch behind the United States in crypto traded across the country.
