SEC to delist naira from P2P platforms

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced plans to delist naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms.

This was disclosed by Emomotimi Agama, SEC acting director general (DG), during a virtual meeting with Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), the umbrella body of major blockchain and cryptocurrency associations within the country.

P2P platforms allow two parties to connect directly to engage in financial transactions without the involvement of traditional financial institutions.

In a statement by SEC, Agama said the decision was taken to avoid the level of “manipulation” happening in the cryptocurrency space.

According to the DG, concerns regarding crypto P2P traders and their perceived impact on the exchange rate underscore the need for collective action and dialogue within the financial market ecosystem.

Agama said those involved in sharp practices that undermine national interest should desist from such activities, adding that stakeholders should reach out to SEC to name and shame the bad actors.

He said actions are being taken to rid the virtual assets space of illegal trading activities, and SEC will go all out to act decisively to uphold the integrity of the capital market and protect the interests of all investors.

Speaking further, the DG requested the support of the industry to strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding the national economic interests.

“With our deep understanding of this industry and the cryptocurrency sub-sector, we recognize the importance of collaboration and cooperation in addressing the challenges we face; hence your insights and suggestions are invaluable as we seek to navigate these complexities together. We need your support as much as you need ours,” he said.

“On that note, I want to emphasise that we are working on different fronts to sustain decent practices within our market, however, we are here to meet ourselves to know those playing within the sector decently and are open to hearing your suggestions on how we can effectively manage all obscure cryptocurrency trading activities within our jurisdiction p2p inclusive irrespective of the challenge we all know that p2p trading posses.

“We must explore innovative solutions to this problem and strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding our national economic interests. This we will do in a friendly and firm manner, to enable us to achieve the desired result.”

SEC TO UTILISE ALL POWERS AGAINST ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

Agama said SEC will not hesitate to utilize all the powers within its mandate to handle issues that are negative and pose a threat to national interest.

He said SEC will ensure Nigeria’s capital market community is respected globally for decency and fair play.

“There are basic practices as enshrined in the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and we expect that everyone will abide by those rules,” Agama said.

“Some may say no rules to play by, but do not forget that we have the Investments and Securities Act 2007 that some actions by participants today may be violating, hence the law is the law irrespective of the technology used.”

SEC TO IMPLEMENT NEW REGULATIONS

Agama said the capital market regulator would introduce regulations in the coming days to guide activities in the virtual space.

He said SEC will also fast-track licence approval for persons or institutions.

“I want to seek your co-operation in dealing with this as we roll out in the coming days the regulations that would take control of these areas,” Agama said.

“We want to assure that this management will ensure that people or institution that require registration with the SEC are quickly licenced. We assure you that we will give guidance when necessary and do well to streamline the processes to make it less difficult.”

Agama also said SEC is working on establishing an accommodating regulatory guideline for digital assets following calls by stakeholders for a specific digital asset regulatory regime.

According to the DG, the proposed regulatory guidelines, which are currently being fine-tuned with suggestions by various stakeholders, will encompass various activities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Some of the listed operations are wallet providers, digital asset custodians and fund managers, cryptocurrency crowdfunding, initial coin offerings (ICOs), security token offerings (STOs), and initial exchange offerings (IEOs).

Others are cryptocurrency exchange platform providers, and virtual asset brokerage services.

He said SEC is ensuring every Nigerian operating within the industry with the potential to contribute to economic progress is included, supported and properly regulated.

“I am poised for an innovative digital asset regulatory regime that will sustain Nigeria as Africa’s Digital Asset Powerhouse with diverse solutions like Real World Asset Tokenization (RWA) that will drive wealth and catalyse our capital market,” the DG said.

Agama said Nigeria has the talents and the people to make the market great but President Bola Tinubu is concerned about the teeming youths involved in the space.

He said Tinubu wants the youths to do the right thing and develop an ecosystem the country can be proud of.

“Manipulations and all forms of activities that undermine our national interest would not be acceptable. It is therefore very important that we know that the SEC by virtue of the Section 13 of the ISA speaks to the regulation of all capital market activities.”

Meanwhile, to tackle challenges facing the crypto space and to move the market forward, BICCoN requested the setting up of a working group.