Nigeria plans to pass a bill recognizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
December 19, 2022
The proposed legislation follows the low adoption rate of Nigeria’s eNaira, which has only reached 0.5% since its launch in October 2021.It is expected that the Nigerian government will soon adopt a law that allows for the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in order to align with international standards and practices.
Punch Newspapers, based in Nigeria, reported on December 18 that the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets Chairman, Babangida Ibrahim, had conducted an interview in which he discussed the potential for the Investments and Securities Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill to be signed into law. If this were to happen, it would allow the local Securities and Exchange Commission to recognize cryptocurrency and other digital funds as capital for investment. Ibrahim emphasized the importance for Nigeria to stay current with trends and developments in the capital market. He said:
“Like I said earlier during the second reading, we need an efficient and vibrant capital market in Nigeria. For us to do that, we have to be up to date [with] global practices.”
In February 2021, Nigeria implemented a ban on all cryptocurrency activity and ordered exchanges and service providers to stop their operations. The Central Bank of Nigeria also instructed banks to close the accounts of anyone found to be involved in cryptocurrency trading. This report is being released nearly two years later:“It is not about [the] lifting of the ban, we are looking at the legality: what is legal and what is within the framework of our operations in Nigeria.”
“When cryptocurrency was initially banned in Nigeria, the CBN discovered that most of these investors don’t even use local accounts. So, they are not within the jurisdiction of the CBN. Because they are not using local accounts, there is no way the CBN can check them,”he explained.
