In a bid to curb manipulation of the Naira’s value in the foreign exchange market, the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced its decision to remove the Naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges.
The directive was communicated by the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama, during a virtual conference with blockchain stakeholders on Monday.
Agama highlighted that the delisting of the Naira from P2P platforms is part of a series of regulations slated for rollout in the coming days.
The move aims to address the rampant manipulation of the local currency’s value observed in the foreign exchange market.
“That is one of the things that must be done to save this space,” stated Agama.
“The delisting of the Naira from the P2P platforms is necessary to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening.”
He urged stakeholders to cooperate with the SEC as it finalizes regulations to enhance transparency and accountability within the crypto space.
During the virtual meeting, Agama reaffirmed the SEC’s commitment to collaborating with stakeholders and emphasized the commission’s ongoing review of guidelines to promote best practices in the industry.
He expressed concern over market players manipulating the Naira’s value and underscored the SEC’s efforts to ensure global respect for the crypto environment through collaborative measures.
The SEC’s decision comes on the heels of a recent directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fintech firms, instructing them to caution their customers against participating in crypto transactions.
Regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges has intensified in Nigeria in recent times, leading to significant actions such as the cessation of Naira services by the largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, on March 8.
