The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday that it had put plans to regulate cryptocurrencies on hold amid the central bank’s decision to ban them. This emerges from a report by the Guardian Nigeria.
The regulator issued a statement officially confirming that plans to regulate cryptocurrencies are now being put on hold after a policy from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered banks to close accounts with cryptocurrencies.
For the purpose of inclusion in the SEC incubation, the valuation of all persons and products affected by the CBN circular of February 5, 2021 is hereby suspended until such persons are able to open bank accounts within the Nigerian banking system lead system, “the SEC said in a statement to the publication.
The CBN letter, signed by Director of Banking Supervision Bello Hassan, states that regulated banking institutions are reminded that “trading in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for exchanging cryptocurrencies is prohibited” and that violations of the regulation are prohibited “Strict regulatory sanctions” are associated.
Despite the announcement by CBN, the Nigerian cryptocurrency community seemed largely unwavering to use peer-to-peer exchange platforms to continue trading.
