- With the withdrawal of Naira from P2P sites, the Nigerian government has increased its efforts to combat foreign exchange manipulation.
The Naira, the currency of Nigeria, is to be removed from all peer-to-peer (P2P) trading systems, as announced by the government.
As part of a larger initiative to stop the manipulation of local currency in the foreign exchange market, Emomotimi Agama, the Director General of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reportedly disclosed this plan during a virtual meeting with the nation’s blockchain stakeholders today.
Local players, meanwhile, have attributed the country’s P2P cryptocurrency trading boom to insufficient regulation.
Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. Despite recent legal setbacks, Nigeria’s youthful population has driven cryptocurrency adoption to all-time highs; Chainalysis ranks the country second on its global crypto adoption index.
Nigeria’s cryptocurrency landscape
Following a more liberal approach toward cryptocurrencies in the early days of President Bola Tinubu’s government, the development represents a significant regulatory shift.
But in recent months, the government has taken a different position, accusing cryptocurrency speculators of creating volatility in the foreign exchange market.
The Nigerian government has been working with telecom companies to prevent local cryptocurrency users from accessing exchange sites like Binance and OctaFX over the last few months.
To further put pressure on the Naira, the government have also accused cryptocurrency site Binance of enabling trades worth billions of dollars.
Authorities have also directed financial institutions in the nation to freeze cryptocurrency-related accounts and notify law enforcement of any such activity. Furthermore, as part of continuous efforts to strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, the government ordered four fintech companies to cease onboarding new customers.
Financial journalists claimed that these actions demonstrated that the crypto economy is doomed to fail as the public’s interest in digital assets and emerging technologies is eclipsed by the FG’s.
Disclaimer : This article was created for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. An asset’s past performance does not predict its future returns. Before making an investment, please conduct your own research, as digital assets like cryptocurrencies are highly risky and volatile financial instruments.
