Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed a new law that recognizes digital assets as securities for the first time.
Tinubu signed Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2024 this week, which local digital asset enthusiasts believe is a landmark moment. It cancel the Investments and Securities Act 2007, Extended the definition of securities To include digital assets along with other assets such as debt securities, shares, shares, bonds, raw materials and investment contracts.
According to the new law, virtual assets can be traded on securities exchange.
The law also provides SEC jurisdiction of the digital asset space, including authority over exchanges, wallet Operators, brokers and all other virtual asset service providers (VASP). These companies must register with Securities Watchdog and get a license while following their guidelines for investors’ protection, market integrity, Anti-money wash (Aml), Knowledge about you (KYC) Program and more.
“ISA 2024 reflects our commitment to building a dynamic, inclusive and resilient capital market,” commented Emomotimi Agama, the Pro-Bitcoin SEC chairman Who took over the office a year ago under Tinubus Administration.
“By addressing regulatory gaps and introducing forward -looking provisions, the new law provides Sec to promote innovation, protect investors more efficiently and reposition Nigeria as a competitive destination for local and foreign investment,” he added.
The Digital asset sector in Nigeria has come the entire circle. After flourishing between 2017 and 2020, it led to a degradation of Nigeria Central Bank (CBN), which prohibited Banks from treating digital asset-related transactions in 2021. This pressed traders to underground peer-to-peer platforms, and over time, centralized exchanges, P2P services also offer.
With time, the CBN ban was reverseAnd trade exploded, Nigeria placed second globally for P2P trade volume and among the top five for adoption.
A second wave of enforcement in 2024 saw the West African nation strike down on the offshore exchanges, most of which worked without getting a license. It resulted in one $ 81.5 billion against binance and one Eight months of detention for one of its managers.
But in 2024 Sec issued its First set of licenses To two local exchanges: Busha and Quidax.
The Nigerian capital market sector praised the new law, which they say better will protect investors and increase market integrity. It also opens new business lines for service providers, such as digital assets.
“We believe it will revive confidence in market stakeholders, which in turn will create significant growth in the market in the future. For operators, it provides diversification opportunities with the extended range in addition to traditional shares and fixed income,” commented Samukwue, who is the head of association of securities.
Watch: Blockchain changes Nigeria’s technical city ecosystem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jof2gir1txm Title = “Youtube video player” Ramborder = “0” Allow = “Accelerometer; Autoplay; Clipboard writing; encrypted media; Gyroscope; Image-in-Bild; Web Dividend” Reference Policy = “Strict-Origin-When-Cross-Origin” Allowing Lorscreen = “>”
