Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed amendments to the rules guiding platforms offering virtual currency services, increasing registration fees for virtual currency exchanges from 30 million naira ($18,620) to 150 million naira. He proposed increasing the amount to Naira ($93,000).
In its amendment, the SEC said the proposed changes were made to provide clarity and “incorporate suggestions from industry participants, particularly with regard to recent engagement with the CBN.” [Central Bank of Nigeria]” The Nigerian SEC first issued the Rules and Guidelines for all Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Service Providers in May 2022, but proposed amendments to the Rules on Friday, March 15, 2024.
Under the updated guidelines, digital asset exchanges, digital asset offering platforms and digital asset custodians will now have to pay an application fee of 300,000 naira ($186), up from the previous 100,000 naira ($62).
Fees also rose from 300,000 naira ($186) to 1 million naira ($620). Similarly, the registration fee also jumped 400% from 30 million naira ($18,620) to 150 million naira ($93,102).
Another proposed change includes renaming the rules and guidelines from “New Regulations on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets” to “Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms, Exchange and Custody of Digital Assets.” It will be done.
The SEC said these amendments are intended to increase clarity and incorporate input from industry participants. It also reflects insights gained from recent discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
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The SEC said the proposed changes were based on input from industry participants, but some have criticized the 500 million naira ($310,343) paid-in capital requirement. They argue that the high fees primarily favor foreign companies and disadvantage local companies.
Nigeria has emerged as one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency economies in the world in recent years. Also, Nigeria was her second largest economy in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption in 2023. In August 2022, Nigeria was named the most crypto-obsessed country in the world by the number of Google searches for “cryptocurrency” or “buy crypto”. ”
According to the Financial Times, Nigeria ended its long-standing currency peg in June 2023, allowing free trade in the naira. The country then faced record inflation. Nigeria's consumer inflation rate rose to nearly 30% in January 2024 for the 13th consecutive month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
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