Having had to put a halt on its planned crypto regulations due to the central bank prohibition, Nigeria’s SEC has reportedly offered clarity to its stance towards the crypto scene locally. 

Specifically, both the SEC and the Central Bank of Nigeria will reportedly be teaming up to jointly work on establishing a concrete regulatory framework, dedicated to the Nigeria-based crypto sphere. 

For Timi Agama — the commission’s registration, exchanges, market infrastructure and innovation head — Nigerian regulators will reportedly not be able to look past the crypto market, with its value reaching $1.74 trillion. 

“Part of the desire of the SEC even in the future is to provide a regulatory framework that will take care of all these challenges that we have seen internationally and the entire world is grappling with in terms of cryptocurrency and digital assets. For us at the SEC and capital market, it is something to look at, the world cannot be moving forward and we will be static, no.” Agama reportedly delivered the remarks at a virtual conference, hosted by the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria in the capital, Abuja. 

Per Agama, the SEC reportedly views crypto as one of the measures for reeling in the much-desired foreign direct investment (FID) into the nation. 

According to insights inferred from the National Bureau of Statistics’s report, 26 out of the 36 states of the federation went through 2020 without having any new FDI. 

For Kevin Amugo, the CBN’s director of financial policy and regulation, the ban was reportedly needed to offer the central bank ample time to deal with the anonymity of crypto transactions.

Crypto exchange platforms across Nigeria reportedly also stay in compliance with Know Your Customer best practices, which include bank verification number, or BVN, authentication.