According to Forbes, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a notice last week to all banks and financial institutions, lifting the ban on cryptocurrency trading. With the increasing importance of Bitcoin and stablecoins in the daily lives and economy of the country, the new regulations represent another positive step taken by the country’s regulatory authorities to provide better regulatory clarity.
Due to the lack of cryptocurrency regulation and consumer protection measures, as well as concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing, the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened in February 2021 and issued a notice prohibiting local banks from allowing bank accounts to be directly linked to cryptocurrency trading. This led to businesses having to adapt to this drastic change, with some companies being forced to close.
However, one consequence of this policy was the growth of Nigeria’s cryptocurrency P2P (peer-to-peer) market. According to data from Chainalysis, the cryptocurrency trading volume in Nigeria increased by 9% year-on-year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023. Additionally, according to the “Chainalysis 2023 Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index” report, Nigeria ranked first in P2P transaction volume and second in overall adoption rate, a significant improvement from the previous year’s rankings of 17th and 11th.
In the notice issued last Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria cited global trends and guidance from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission as the reasons for lifting the previous ban, and introduced clearer regulatory and guidance for the activities of digital asset and virtual asset service providers. These guidelines outline the activities that banks and financial institutions are allowed to engage in when opening accounts for virtual asset trading and facilitating the inflow of foreign exchange and virtual asset trading by VASPs. The Central Bank of Nigeria also stipulated that local banks and financial institutions are not allowed to hold, trade, or transmit cryptocurrencies themselves.
The new rules also introduce strict know-your-customer (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML), and other related measures and checks, including requiring VASPs to obtain a license issued by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission in order to operate bank accounts in the country.
VASPs operating in Nigeria must also comply with the new guidelines set by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, such as meeting a minimum paid-up capital of 5 billion naira (approximately $550,000), being registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria, and obtaining approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch tokens.