Nigeria’s SEC Establishes Specialist Division to Study Crypto Investments

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established a specialist fintech division to study crypto investments and plot a course for regulation of cryptocurrency.

• The markets regulator will step in with regulations once crypto is allowed within Nigeria’s banking system, SEC Director General Lamido Yuguda said Thursday, according to a Reuters report.
• “We are looking at this market closely to see how we can bring out regulations that will help investors protect their investment in blockchain,” Yuguda said.
• The SEC has sought to regulate crypto assets by classifying them as securities.
• In February, Nigeria’s central bank ordered all banks to close any accounts dealing in cryptocurrency. But that hasn’t stopped crypto from thriving in Africa’s most populous country with investors turning to peer-to-peer trading or direct payments.

Read more: How Crypto Can Help Nigeria’s Economy