Nigeria’s markets regulator publishes rules on crypto assets

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s markets regulator has printed a set of rules for digital belongings, signalling Africa’s most populous nation is looking for a center floor between an outright ban on crypto belongings and their unregulated use.

Nigeria’s central financial institution final 12 months banned banks and monetary establishments from dealing in or facilitating transactions in digital currencies.

However the nation’s younger, tech-savvy inhabitants has eagerly adopted cryptocurrencies, for instance utilizing peer-to-peer buying and selling provided by crypto exchanges to keep away from the monetary sector ban.

Nigeria’s Securities and Change Fee (SEC) printed the “New Guidelines on Issuance, Providing Platforms and Custody of Digital Property” on its web site.

The 54-page doc lays out registration necessities for digital belongings choices and custodians, and classifies the belongings as securities regulated by the SEC.

A central financial institution spokesperson didn’t reply calls to his cell phone.

The SEC mentioned no digital belongings trade can be allowed to facilitate buying and selling of belongings except it had obtained a “no objection” ruling from the fee.

A digital belongings trade shall be required to pay 30 million naira ($72,289) as a registration charge, amongst different charges.

In October, Nigeria launched a digital forex, the eNaira, within the hope of increasing entry to banking. Official digital currencies, not like cryptocurrencies similar to bitcoin, are backed and managed by the central financial institution.

(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Modifying by Mark Potter)