The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says the regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets is under its full control and regulation.
The Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said this at the first Annual Conference of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (ACMAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Agama described crypto assets as digital or virtual assets utilised by cryptography for security.
He said there were over 15,000 cryptocurrencies created which had Bitcoin as the most popular.
The SEC director-general said that the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency was not yet firm even in the United States.
According to him, Nigeria’s crypto transaction volume had reached $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, hence the efforts by SEC.
Agama quoted a survey which said that 33.4 per cent of Nigerians were using or owned cryptocurrencies.
”Secrecy of crypto usage is what is driving its adoption by the youth.
”Some people don’t have bank accounts but they have crypto wallet.
”Crypto is like an air, can you cage it, No. What you can do is to build a risk management around it,” he said.
Agama said the commission would continue to educate investors on the risks associated with digital assets to be able to make wise investment decisions.
The Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Osita Izunaso, said the country required effective crypto regulation to benefit from the gains of the market.
Izunaso said the absence of effective regulation on cryptocurrencies had exposed so many investors to fraud.
He called for synergy from all stakeholders to harness opportunities in the crypto space.
The Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Ms Patience Oniha, called for awareness creation to educate investors to make informed decisions.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Mr Bello Hassan said that cryptocurrencies had come to stay as younger people were patronising the market.
Hassan called on the SEC to constantly update investors with unbiased information on the associated risks of trading in the crypto market.
The President, of ACMAN, Prof. Uche Uwaleke said the conference was aimed at considering the possibilities of expanding the financial sector regulations.
Uwaleke said the conference would also explore ways to accommodate crypto assets within the regulatory space.
ACMAN conferred awards on many stakeholders in the financial and capital markets for their various contributions in moving the markets forward.
The conference was organised by ACMAN in collaboration with SEC.
NAN
