Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director-General Emomotimi Agama said the country is open to stablecoin businesses that comply with local regulations.
According to a Thursday report by English-language local news outlet, The Cable, Agama said stablecoin companies that comply with local regulations are welcome in Nigeria. “Nigeria is open for stablecoin business, but on terms that protect our markets and empower Nigerians,” he said.
“We have onboarded some firms focused on stablecoin applications, all while ensuring compliance with core risk management principles,” Agama said, adding that those companies were admitted through the SEC’s regulatory sandbox.
Agama made his remarks on Thursday at the Nigeria stablecoin summit in Lagos. During a panel discussion, he said regulating stablecoins is essential for Nigeria’s development.
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He emphasized that regulating stablecoins is essential to Nigeria’s financial development. “When the history books document Africa’s financial revolution, today will be remembered as the moment we moved from potential to action.” This echoes the recent shift in Nigeria’s approach to crypto regulation.
In late May, a shift in local cryptocurrency regulation led Blockchain.com to announce plans to open a physical office in Nigeria, its “fastest-growing market” in West Africa. “Nigeria has taken meaningful steps toward creating a clear framework for crypto,” Owenize Odia, Blockchain.com’s general manager for Africa, reportedly said at the time.
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In March, Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris said that many crypto businesses operating inside the country are not facing litigation or criminal prosecution. Enforcement efforts aim “to strengthen our laws, not to cripple anybody. We are ensuring that no one comes and operates without regulation,” he said.
The remarks follow Nigeria filing a $81.5 billion lawsuit against Binance in February, claiming the exchange caused the crash of Nigeria’s local currency, the naira. Local prosecutors also argued that Binance owed $2 billion in back taxes as the Nigerian government continues to grapple with sensible crypto policy.
Despite Nigerian authorities accusing a crypto exchange of being responsible for the devaluation of the local currency, some officials speak highly of the technology. In a March opinion article, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information of Nigeria, recognized that “blockchain technology and other digital assets are no longer on the fringes of our economy.”
“They are fast becoming central to how our people transact, create and build,” he added.
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