Nigeria’s market regulator has published a set of regulations for digital assets as the country tries to find a middle ground between an outright ban on crypto assets and their unregulated use.
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a 54-page document titled “New Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms, and Custody of Digital Assets” on its website.
The document lays out registration requirements for digital assets offerings and custodians and classifies the assets as securities regulated by the SEC.
According to the SEC, no digital assets exchange would be allowed to facilitate the trading of assets unless it had received a ”no objection” ruling from the commission
But, in its new regulations, SEC said mandates the registration of “the offering and sale of digital tokens that are considered securities”.
In order for a digital assets exchange to operate in the country, it will be required to pay 30 million nairas ($72,289) as a registration fee, among other fees.
The country’s Central Bank last year banned banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in digital currencies.
But, in its new regulations, SEC said mandates the registration of “the offering and sale of digital tokens that are considered securities”.
Also Read: Nigeria Bans Banks From Servicing Crypto Exchanges
However, Nigeria’s young, tech-savvy population eagerly adopted cryptocurrencies, for instance, using peer-to-peer trading offered by crypto exchanges to avoid the sector ban.
In October, Nigeria launched a digital currency, the eNaira, in the hope of expanding access to banking. Official digital currencies, unlike cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, are backed and controlled by the central bank.
