The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a notice to amend its rules on Digital Asset Issuance, Offering Platforms, Exchange and Custody.
The notice, published on the organization’s website on June 21 2024, added that the SEC was opening a special onboarding window for such firms.
“The Commission hereby provides a special window for the on boarding of Virtual Assets Service Providers [“VASPs”] tagged Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme [“ARIP”],” the circular reads.
“By this Circular, all operating and prospective VASPs are hereby directed to visit the SEC ePortal to complete the application process no later than 30 days from the date of this Circular.”
Following the 30-day-period, the Commission indicated that it would commence enforcement action against any operating VASP that fails to comply with the directives.
Last month [May 2024], players in the local tech ecosystem speculated that the authorities were preparing more stringent regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges. This after the National Security Adviser (NSA) classified crypto trading as a national security issue.
REGULATION | Local Players Expect Nigeria to Ban Peer-to-Peer Crypto Trading Soon
Already, three Nigerian fintech startups – Moniepoint, Paga, and Palmpay – will block the accounts of customers dealing in cryptocurrency and report those transactions to law enforcement.… pic.twitter.com/2pk9AjrxWJ
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 6, 2024
Exchanges operating in the country have been under scrutiny as authorities believe that crypto platforms facilitate speculation and potential manipulation of exchange rates. In late February 2024, the government ordered several services, including Coinbase, Quidax, and Binance, to stop operations.
REGULATION | Crypto Exchanges to Stop StableCoin Sales in Nigeria Amid Apparent Crackdown
“There was a meeting of crypto founders on Tuesday [February 27 2024] morning, and a number of them agreed to suspend the trades on their platform,” a person at that meeting told a local… pic.twitter.com/iiYBuYrpOu
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 29, 2024
Binance has been in the eye of the storm, being accused of money laundering and tax evasion alongside 2 of its employees. Olayemi Cardoso, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB) Governor, alleged that ‘$26 billion has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users we cannot identify.’
However, Nigeria Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has withdrawn the tax evasion charges against the Binance officials, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla.
REGULATION | Nigerian Revenue Service Withdraws Tax Evasion Charges Against Binance Officials
Following this, Binance which allegedly had an untaxed turnover of over $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone, according to Nigeria Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, will be… pic.twitter.com/XqvRrMgo16
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 15, 2024
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