The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has highlighted the potential of blockchain technology to improve efficiency and enhance the regulation of the capital market.
Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director-General of SEC, made this statement during a visit from a delegation of the Algorand Foundation in Abuja on Tuesday.
Blockchain technology is a secure, decentralized database that stores and shares transaction data across a network of computers.
While it is well-known for its use in cryptocurrencies, it has numerous other applications.
Agama emphasized that blockchain presents an opportunity to address Africa’s significant issues of financial exclusion, lack of transparency, and inefficiencies in both the public and private sectors.
Collaboration with global regulatory bodies
He explained that the SEC is consistently aligning with international best practices by collaborating with global regulatory bodies such as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.
- According to him, this collaboration ensures the SEC’s regulatory framework remains robust, adaptive, and capable of enabling cross-border collaboration while fostering investor confidence, noting that the SEC has introduced several measures, including the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme and Regulatory Incubation, to ensure innovations are harnessed responsibly.
- The program is planned to not only foster innovation, but also safeguard consumers.
- He cited the recent approval-in-principle granted to two digital asset exchanges and five firms participating in these programs as evidence of the SEC’s commitment to enabling innovation.
“In this era of technological innovation, the question is not whether Africa will adopt blockchain, but how it will shape its adoption to maximize its benefits for all people,” Agama said.
“We want to activate the blockchain in our efficiency; we want to be able to use it to regulate our market. My dream is to have all of the information we need to do our work in a blockchain. We want to bring technology into our system for effectiveness where we can work seamlessly and everything that we do will be traceable. So, wherever there is a toxin in the blockchain, we will find it and deal with it. We want to leave a legacy that each of us will be proud of when we leave this commission, but in getting that to happen, we must all be educated enough to drive that course.”
Mr. Eric Wragge, Global Head of Business Development at the Algorand Foundation, said the team was in Nigeria to democratize technology and assist interested organizations and businesses in leveraging the benefits of blockchain technology in their operations.
“It is an honor to be here. We are here to tell you what blockchain is all about and how it can help your work. It is free to use, and our job is to go around the world, discover where the technology can be used, and help people implement it,” Wragge said.
What you should know
- In August 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted “approval-in-principle” to two digital asset exchanges, Quidax and Busha Digital Limited, allowing them to begin operations under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP).
- Five firms were also admitted to test their models and technology under the SEC’s Regulatory Incubation (RI) Programme.
- SEC introduced the ARIP to on-board firms which had commenced operations before the release of the Rules on Virtual Asset Service Providers in May 2022.
Conversely, the RI Programme was created to assess the business models of Digital Assets firms and test innovative products, services and technology in a real-time market environment under close supervision by the SEC.
