SEC Introduces New Guideline for Cryptocurrency Operations, Others as Nigerians Lose N500bn

• Nigeria's SEC has introduced new rules to guide cryptos, others after Nigerians lost N500 billion to Ponzi schemes
• According to the commission, this will ensure that criminals are not registered as operators
• The chairmen of the anti-money laundering committees of government agencies are reviewing the guide

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established new guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in terms of licensing, registration, and inspection.

The acronym for the new guidelines is AML/CFT/CPF, which stands for Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Proliferation/Combating the Financing of Terrorism.

It stated that the initiative would ensure that criminals are not registered as operators in the capital market.

Read also

CBN issues warning to microfinance banks, others, gives deadline for submission of financial return

According to a TheCable report, the SEC has delivered new guidance to the chairmen of the anti-money laundering committees of government agencies.

Before their finalization, the guidelines will be put through one last review and made accessible for feedback.

With the new guide set to be implemented, the SEC stated that it is prepared to deal with legitimate VASPs.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria recently lifted its restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions in commercial banks after it banned banks from crypto-related transactions in 2021, citing money laundering and terrorism financing concerns.

The regulator has now reversed that ban, explaining that global trends have shown the need for crypto regulation instead of a total ban.

This came on the back of a report by the SEC revealing that Nigerians lost up to N500 billion to Ponzi schemes.

Executive Commissioner Reginald Karawusa of the SEC said this while responding to questions from the Senate committee on capital markets and Institutions during a courtesy visit to the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS).

Read also

Restructure CBN to curtail hardship, CSO urges Tinubu

The Guardian reported that the agency warned citizens against investing in companies that offer irrational returns and are not registered with the agency.

Binance discontinues service

In a recent development, Legit.ng reported that cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced discontinuing all its Nigerian naira services.

In light of this, Binance, in a statement, encouraged users to withdraw (Nigerian naira) NGN, trade their NGN assets, or convert NGN into crypto before the discontinuation of these NGN services.

According to the exchange, any remaining NGN balances in users' Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT based on the conversion rate at the closing period from March 8.

Source: Legit.ng