The Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said that it will present a regulatory policy framework for the implementation of cryptocurrencies in the country.
He revealed this in a report on ‘Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025’.
According to Investopedia, Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is linked or tied to that of another currency, product, or financial instrument, providing an alternative to the high volatility of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, which has made cryptocurrency investments difficult. less suitable for ordinary people. proceedings.
Remember that CBN had banned cryptocurrency-related transactions in the country while claiming that the digital currency was used for money laundering and terrorism.
The statement by CBN’s acting director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, said that the ban on such transactions will not have any negative impact on fintechs.
This was corroborated by Babangida Ibrahim, Chairman of the Capital Markets and Institutions Committee of the Nigerian House of Representatives, who stated that the country would soon pass a law that would legalize the use of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
The bill, he said, will amend the Securities and Investments Act of 2007 and recognize Bitcoin as legal capital for investment.
In February 2021, Nigeria effectively banned the use of Bitcoin with a letter barring regulated financial firms from “dealing” in cryptocurrency.
In the same year, various reports had listed Nigeria as the country with the highest volume of Bitcoin peer-to-peer trading in the world.
Ibrahim was quoted as saying that Nigeria is behind when it comes to regulating the industry, adding that “we need an efficient and vibrant capital market in Nigeria. In order for us to do that, we have to keep up with global practices.”
If the proposed regulation properly addresses the growing use of Bitcoin within the country, it could be a major catalyst for the most populous country on the African continent, some analysts believe.
Bitcoin has had a large presence in the country despite the current ban, including building a Bitcoin village, Nigerian bitcoiners participating in all kinds of development, philanthropic work by Bitcoin companies and mining, being a active industry there.
The banking regulator had previously banned crypto-related transactions in the banking system.
“CBN would consider developing a regulatory framework for the potential implementation of ‘Stablecoins,” CBN revealed.
The bank added that it would “also continue its watchdog report on initial coin offerings and work with the Securities and Exchange Commission to jointly develop a regulatory framework in the event of adoption of an ICO-based investment solution.”
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