The Digital Currency Coalition (DCC), a consortium of crypto asset practitioners, blockchain innovators, and founders, has emphasized the need for the federal government to come up with a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for the crypto ecosystem in Nigeria.
The Coalition in a statement released on Monday said this is crucial to address concerns like financial stability, market integrity, and investor protection, among other risks related to crypto assets.
While noting their readiness to collaborate with the government in this regard, said regulation of the industry would bolster the country’s economy and help the country fight financial crimes in many ways including addressing the issue of money laundering through digital assets.
Despite the absence of regulation, several reports have established that Nigerians are among the leading crypto users and traders in the world.
According to a recent report by Trading Browser, 45% of Nigeria’s population are using or owning cryptocurrency in 2022.
Collaboration with government
While emphasizing their willingness to work with the government, the Coalition said:
- “Importantly, DCC has proactively self-regulated and complies with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards for Anti-Money Laundering, including enforcing the travel rule among its members. We are committed to identifying and implementing effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures that apply to virtual assets and service providers.
- “We believe that a well-regulated digital currency space is vital for the economic future of Nigeria and are ready and willing to be part of the journey to regulation, supporting the government under President Tinubu’s leadership.”
The DCC commended the Nigerian government’s participation in the 18th G20 summit recently held in New Delhi, India with discussions on digital currency regulation.
- “We appreciate the regulatory discussions led by President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, which aligns with DCC’s long-standing call for a structured digital currency ecosystem. These discussions were further informed by a key document from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Financial Stability Board (FSB) titled ‘IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper: Policies for Crypto-Assets.’
- “We also extend our warmest wishes to the Nigerian Government and delegates participating at the UN General Assembly in New York. We wish the Nigerian delegation fruitful deliberation that benefits the nation and the digital currency ecosystem,” the DCC stated.
What you should know
The Federal Executive Council under the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari had on May 3rd, 2023 approved the country’s National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria. While this raised the hope that the country was getting closer to crypto regulation, it is yet to be implemented.
According to the government, the vision of the Policy was to create a Blockchain-powered economy that supports secure transactions, data sharing, and value exchange between people, businesses, and the Government, thereby enhancing innovation, trust, growth, and prosperity for all.