Nigerian Lawmakers Plan to Legalize Cryptocurrency as Nigerians’ Interest in Bitcoin Remains High
- Nigerian lawmakers are making moves to legalize cryptocurrency trading in the country
- The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions revealed this
- He said Nigeria must move with the times and that the Stockbrokers Amendment Bill would enable crypto assets in Nigeria
There are signs that the Nigerian government may be moving towards legalizing cryptocurrency transactions very soon.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Babangida Ibrahim, disclosed this recently in a chat with reporters.
Source: Getty Images
SEC and CBN Acts to be amended to accommodate crypto assets
Nairametrics quotes Ibrahim explained as saying that as soon as the Investment and Securities Act of 2007 Amendment Bill becomes law, the Securities and Exchange Commission can legitimatize Bitcoin under the assets as capital investment.
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The suggested bill would also itemize SEC’s and CBN’s regulatory roles for cryptos.
Alongside recognizing Bitcoin and cryptos, the move will outline the CBN’s and SEC’s roles on issues relating to digital assets.
CBN’s CBDC, the eNaira, has not received the expected attention required from Nigerians since it launched in 2021.
The Nigerian government has failed to suppress the appetite for cryptocurrency in Nigeria, and citizens see little comfort in the eNaira filling the gap.
He explained that part of the amendments is a bill for an act to repeal the Chattered Institute of Stockbrokers Act, which privides for the founding of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments in the country.
Ibrahim stated that Nigeria must be abreast with global economic realities and development, and developing a dynamic capital market is one of the ways to do so.
Ibrahim said:
“When Bitcoin was first outlawed in Nigeria, the majority of these investors did not have local accounts.
“As a result, they are not under the CBN’s jurisdiction. He said that because they aren’t using local accounts, the CBN has no means to check them.”
Nigeria is ranked second highest in crypto adoption worldwide and is the largest Bitcoin market in Africa.
Apart from El Salvador, Nigeria has the most blockchain searches on Google.
Nigeria highest-ranking country on crypto trading
Chainalys, the crypto analytic website, said Nigeria is one of the top countries in the world with the most Bitcoin holdings.
On Chainalysis’s list of nations for the “Global Crypto Adoption Index,” Nigeria is currently rated eleventh.
Nigerian crypto investors show billions of dollars credited to their accounts in error
Legit.ng reported that several Nigerian cryptocurrency investors have shown massive amounts of money running into billions of dollars credited into their wallets in a global glitch that made many momentary billionaires overnight.
After Legit.ng reported a story of Chinedu MacGordon who woke up to a bloated cryptocurrency account, many took to the comment section Legit.ng’s Facebook pages to share screenshots of what they found on their Coinbase wallets.
Many reported a snag in withdrawing the money found in their accounts. Some users saw billions of dollars in their accounts.
Source: Legit.ng
