Nigeria’s first digital exchange license approved: ‘Historical moment’

Journalist

Posted: September 2, 2024

Nigeria grants first crypto licenses, signaling a new regulatory approach.
New regulations may attract foreign investments to Nigeria’s crypto market.

The global landscape for cryptocurrency has undergone significant changes in 2024. The year started with nations like Russia and Turkey introducing new regulations to manage the growing influence of digital assets.
Now, Nigeria has made a notable move by granting its first licenses to local crypto exchanges. This has signaled a shift in its approach to digital currencies.
Nigeria’s new crypto move
Source: SEC Nigeria/X
On the 29th of August, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a proactive step by granting “approval-in-principle” licenses to Busha Digital Limited and Quidax Technologies Limited under its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP).
“Glad to be a part of this historical moment”
Remarking on the same, Buchi Okoro, Co-founder and CEO, Quidax said in a statement, 
“We commend the SEC under the leadership of Dr. Emomotimi Agama, for taking the bold step to bring order, confidence and investor protection to our industry. This is a big win for Nigeria’s embrace of crypto, and we are glad to be a part of this historical moment.” 
That being said, the press release published by the Nigerian’s SEC on 29th August further added, 
“Similarly, 5 firms have been admitted to test their models and technology under the SEC’s Regulatory Incubation [“RI”] Program.” 
Here the five firms include Trovotech Ltd, HousingExchange.NG Ltd, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Blockvault Custodian Ltd, and Dream City Capital. 
All about the Nigerian SEC’s regulatory program
For those unfamiliar, the Nigerian SEC has established two regulatory incubation programs to carefully oversee and regulate digital assets firms in the country.
These programs aim to provide a foundation for crafting more robust regulations, ensuring transparency and protection for digital asset services.
The ARIP was introduced to align with recent changes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, focusing on onboarding Virtual Assets Services Providers (VASPs) and adapting rules on digital asset issuance, custody, and exchange.
Meanwhile, the RI program assesses the business models of digital asset firms in real-time market conditions, helping to shape cohesive policies for the evolving crypto industry in Nigeria. 

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