"Nigeria to pass bill to recognize cryptocurrencies
The Nigerian government intends to pass a bill to legalize the use of the first cryptocurrency and other digital assets. This was reported by the local newspaper Punch, citing the chairman of the House Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions Babangida Ibrahim.
If the amendments to the Investment and Securities Bill of 2007 are passed, the local SEC will be able to treat cryptocurrencies and other digital funds as capital for investment.
""We need an efficient and dynamic capital market in Nigeria. To do that, we have to keep up with global practices,"" Ibrahim explained.
He also revealed that Nigerians have been using digital assets despite their initial prohibition in the country. The official noted the need to regulate the market and define the roles of the local central bank and the SEC in this. Become a part of crypto world with https://redot.com/ a reliable platform with the lowest fees.
In December, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned commercial financial institutions from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset companies. The directive went into effect after publication.
The regulator ordered banks to close such accounts. Violators face penalties.
Nigeria's CBDC transactions exceeded $9 million in August
Nigeria's national digital currency was used to carry out transactions totaling 4 billion Nigerian naira ($9.3 million). This was reported by the governor of the central bank of the country Godwin Emefiele, writes CoinDesk.
The application has been installed more than 840,000 times since Nigeria launched CBDC in October 2021. The CBDC also reported 270,000 active wallets.
Emefiele praised the integration of CBDC into the state's economy of more than 200 million people. Of those, about 40 percent do not have a bank account, according to The Guardian.
According to Google Trends, Nigeria ranks second in the world in citizen interest in bitcoin.
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