The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, says it has set up a fintech division to understudy cryptocurrency investments and other digital products in order to establish regulations for the sector in Nigeria.
The Director-General, Lamido Yuguda disclosed this to Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
Recall that the commission in April, entered into talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for better understanding and regulation of the cryptocurrency market.
“We are looking at this market closely to see how we can bring out regulations that will help investors protect their investment in Blockchain,” he said adding that regulations would be put in place once cryptocurrency trading is permitted within the Nigerian banking system.
Yuguda added that the commission seeks to partner fintech companies to boost the marketing of domestic securities to prevent capital flight.
Recall also that CBN had directed banks and other financial institutions to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions.
CBN posited that cryptocurrencies pose the risk of loss of investments, money laundering, terrorism financing, illicit fund flows and other criminal activities.
In July, the apex bank announced that the pilot scheme of its digital currency (e-Naira) will kick off on October 1, 2021.
It selected Bitt Inc, a global fintech company, as the technical partner for the rollout of e-Naira.
