Expectations are high over the much needed regulation of the Blockchain Industry as the new Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Emomotimi Agama meets stakeholders today.
However, the meeting earlier scheduled for 10 am on Monday has been moved to 2:30 pm.
The meeting is coming amid complaints that lack of regulation of cryptocurrency is responsible for the growth of P2P in Nigeria.
Specifically, the stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), the umbrella body of players in the cryptocurrency industry, has blamed the rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading in the country on the lack of regulation amid heightened concerns that the government may ban P2P anytime soon.
President of the SIBAN, Obinna Iwuno, stated this on Saturday during an X space to discuss the state of the web3 in Nigeria. The space was held against the backdrop of the recent clampdown on crypto trading by the government.
According to Iwuno, if the government had regulated the industry, many Nigerians would have been trading through regulated exchanges and not through P2P.
While the government has forbidden banks and fintechs from processing any crypto-related transactions, the SIBAN President expressed concern that crypto trading may soon be criminalized if nothing is done to make the government understand the business.
The postponement was disclosed in an email signed by the Public Relations Officer of Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria, Kue Paul.
The meeting is being facilitated by BICCoN.
“Please note that the interactive session with the SEC DG has been rescheduled for 2:30pm WAT on Monday, May 6, 2024.”
Metrobusinessnews.com (MBN) gathered that the proposed meeting may afford government the opportunity to announce a temporary halt in the P2P crypto trading to enable it come up with a comprehensive set of rules for effective regulation of the space.
Other sources said the government might choose to engage the crypto stakeholders on a new set of rules that could be deployed to better regulate the space.
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In 2021, the CBN had restricted banks and other financial institutions from operating accounts for cryptocurrency service providers.
However, in December 2023, the financial regulator lifted the ban and announced a reversal of the policy.
Fresh concerns emerged in February over the activities of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, on its peer-to-peer platform, such as implementing a price cap on USDT trading.
Authorities said those activities contributed to the devaluation of the naira and destabilised Nigeria’s economy.
MBN furthered gathered that SEC had largely been responsible for the lack of regulation as it virtually abdicated its responsibility, claiming lack of clarity of spheres of operations by CBN.
But analysts had continued to blame SEC, particularly the last management, which had declared operations of Binance illegal, twice last year, for being lethargic concerning some of its responsibilities.
The development has heightened expectations on the new management for a purposeful leadership direction.