Nigeria adopts a law governing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin

Nigeria's eNaira has only achieved an adoption rate of 0.5%, more than a year after its launch in October 2021. This information led to the law that would soon be approved. Recent rumors indicate that the Nigerian government may soon adopt legislation that would publicly acknowledge the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a way for the nation to align its policies with those of the rest of the globe.

The news was released on December 18 in Nigeria's Punch Newspapers after an encounter with Babangida Ibrahim, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets.

According to the article, the local Securities and Exchange Commission would be authorized to consider cryptocurrencies and other virtual monies as investment capital if the Investments and Securities Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill is approved and becomes law. These accounts are not usually acknowledged as investing capital by the SEC.

Nearly 24 months have passed since Nigeria outlawed cryptocurrency trading in February 2021. At that time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered all cryptocurrency exchanges and providers operating in Nigeria to halt operations and instructed institutions to freeze the account of anyone discovered to be trading. Nearly 24 months have passed since the incidents as of this report.

The Nigerian Investments and Securities Act of 2007 would be updated to incorporate the modifications if the bill is passed.

According to the report, the law would outline the regulatory responsibilities of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria's Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in relation to matters involving virtual currencies in addition to officially recognizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The legislation also comes at a time when Nigerians' enthusiasm in the eNaira, the country's central bank's digital currency, has been minimal to nonexistent. Twelve months after its public debut, the adoption rate of the eNaira was barely 0.5% in October.

The fact that usage increased even after the ban took effect in February 2021 shows that the Nigerian government's early efforts to stifle cryptocurrency activity were probably ineffective as well.

Between January and August of the prior year, Nigeria had the second-highest volume of Bitcoin trades after the United States. In the same time frame, Nigerians were more inclined than those in any other nation to google Bitcoin.

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