- Nigeria plans to legalize crypto around its legal framework.
- The country’s crypto adoption rate continued to skyrocket even with the ban.
- The Nigerian government plans to move on par with the capital market.
After banning crypto in the country and just celebrating a 0.5% adoption rate for eNaira, a little more than a year after the launch in October 2021, the government is ready to pass laws that will recognize the usage of cryptocurrencies in a bid to catch up with the world in global practices.
The news came out on December 18 during an interview with the House of Representatives committee on capital markets chairman Babangida Ibrahim. Reports are saying if the Securities Act 2007 (Amendment) is approved into law, it will enable the recognition of cryptocurrency and digital funds as capital for investment by the local Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nigeria is finally looking towards taking this step to catch up with trends and developments in capital markets. For the country to achieve an efficient and vibrant capital market, it needs to be on par with the world markets. This decision is coming almost two years after activities related to cryptocurrency were banned in the country, with the Central bank of Nigeria sending out orders for crypto exchanges and service providers to immediately put a stop to their activities and a ma mandate for banks to close down any accounts found to be still engaging in crypto transactions.
However, the approval of this law is not a total reversal of the crypto ban but to find a way to legalize it within the laws of the country and the country’s legal framework. The country’s reasoning behind this was finding out that when the ban was first sent out, it was to the tune of discovering that most crypto investors were not making use of local accounts, thereby removing them from under the jurisdiction of The Central Bank of Nigeria, which would help them evade being properly checked, the laws being reviewed would allow for there to be a proper way to trade within the law.
The law will also come with an outlined regulatory role of the country’s central bank and Nigeria’s securities exchange commission (SEC) on matters that concern digital currencies.
The law review is also coming in as Nigerians have barely shown any interest in the eNaira owned by the central bank, which just obtained 0.5% a year after its creation. The country’s plan to crack down on the use of crypto also fell flat as the crypto adoption continued to skyrocket despite the ban. The government’s decision to legalize cryptocurrency according to the country’s legal framework will help them regulate the use of cryptocurrencies.
How This Could Help Boost The African Crypto Ecosystem.
Crypto adoption in the country will increase if it is legalized, as some people have stopped investing in cryptocurrency to avoid disobeying the laws. If it is legalized, more people will pick up an interest in cryptocurrency and help drive more wealth through the crypto market.
More investors from African countries will invest in crypto countries from Nigeria, who have had to move away to foreign countries to avoid breaking the law and will make their way back to the government to grow their business. With Nigeria’s exposure to the African economy, it’ll create a boost. The African crypto market will also be able to easily collaborate with Nigeria to drive digital currencies in the African market and use all the resources available to help facilitate growth in the financial need of the African ecosystem.
Conclusion
The crypto market continues to find its way around the world. Despite the many challenges and hurdles thrown at the economy this past year, there is still a high adoption rate in certain parts of the world, especially with more countries choosing to either legalize crypto or create more regulations to help make the crypto market more flexible.
More financial services are also looking for ways to integrate cryptocurrency into their market. It shows that the cryptocurrency market still has a massive chance of growth in the coming years, as opposed to the speculations that the recent crashes and bankruptcies signal the end of the crypto space. The cryptocurrency market adoption rate is still thriving in several parts of the world, with countries that previously banned it finding a way to pull it back in.
