Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission Establishes Fintech Division for Crypto Research – Regulation Bitcoin News

Nigeria’s securities regulator, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has set up a fintech division “to investigate crypto investments.” This was revealed by Lamido Yuguda, the Director General of the SEC, in an interview.

Protecting Crypto Investors

By interview, Yuguda explains that the results of the study will help inform the SEC on the best ways to regulate the cryptocurrency when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decides on February 6th directive be raised. However, the Director-General did not provide a time frame for issuing regulations or when he expects the CBN directive to be repealed.

Meanwhile, in the same interview, Yuguda explains why his organization is eager to create crypto regulations. He explained:

We are taking a close look at this market to see how we can create regulations that will help investors protect their investments in blockchain.

As before reported from Bitcoin.com News, Nigeria continues to be an ideal hunting ground for crypto scammers. Many unsuspecting investors continue to lose money to criminals who also appear to be taking advantage of the country's lack of laws regulating cryptocurrencies.

To protect investors, Nigerian regulators such as the SEC have issued warnings, while the central bank has gone so far as to block the crypto industry's access to the banking ecosystem.

The Real Reason for Desiring to Control Crypto

However, some Nigerian crypto enthusiasts believe that the ongoing devaluation of the naira is the real reason behind the CBN and other regulators’ desire to control the crypto industry. The ongoing foreign exchange shortage against rising demand is blamed for accelerating the Naira's decline against major currencies. Cryptocurrencies are another way individuals can preserve value outside of the fluctuating naira.

In response to this worsening situation, authorities have imposed restrictions on both crypto and cryptocurrencies Non-crypto entities like the operators of the Bureau de Change. Furthermore, the CBN recently acted against six fintech companies after they allegedly violated terms of their operating licenses.

However, in contrast to the CBN's hard-line approach, Yuguda insists that his organization "wants to work with fintech firms to promote the marketing of domestic securities to prevent capital flight." He adds that “the SEC wants to increase savings through investment programs, which currently have $9.7 billion under management across public and private fund managers.”

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