The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed its intention to remove the naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms.
This announcement was made by Emomotimi Agama, the acting Director General (DG) of SEC, during a virtual meeting with the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), which represents major blockchain and cryptocurrency associations in the country.
P2P platforms enable direct financial transactions between two parties without the involvement of traditional financial institutions.
According to a statement from SEC, Agama emphasized that this decision was made to prevent the kind of “manipulation” observed in the cryptocurrency space.
The Director General highlighted concerns about crypto P2P traders and their perceived impact on the exchange rate, emphasizing the importance of collective action and dialogue within the financial market ecosystem.
Agama urged those engaging in activities that undermine national interests to cease such practices, encouraging stakeholders to collaborate with SEC to identify and expose bad actors.
He emphasized ongoing efforts to eliminate illegal trading activities in the virtual assets space, affirming SEC’s commitment to taking decisive actions to maintain the integrity of the capital market and protect investors’ interests.
Furthermore, the DG sought industry support in finding a balance between fostering innovation and safeguarding national economic interests.
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“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.”
Agama affirmed that SEC will use all its mandated powers to address issues that are detrimental and pose a threat to national interests.
He emphasized SEC’s commitment to upholding global respect for Nigeria’s capital market through principles of 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.
