Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso
FG to delist naira from P2P platforms to curb manipulations
The Federal Government has announced plans to delist the naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms.
The Ag Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama who disclosed on Monday said that the Commission plan to delist the Naira from P2P (peer to peer) crypto currency trading space in order to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening on the platform.
This decision aims to tackle the manipulation of the local currency’s value in the foreign exchange market.
The country’s regulatory authorities have been investigating and scrutinising cryptocurrency exchanges in recent months.
On March 8, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, stopped its naira services.
He therefore enjoined participants in the crypto space to be patriotic enough to name and shame those that are involved in disrupting the markets negatively.
He said: “I want to seek your cooperation in dealing with this as we roll out in the coming days the regulations that would take control of these areas. We want to assure that this management will ensure that people or institutions that require registration with the SEC are quickly licenced. We assure you that we will give guidance when necessary and do well to streamline the processes to make it less difficult.
“We ask that those involved in sharp practices that undermine national interest should cease and desist. It is in our interest as a people to protect what belongs to us. We encourage you to reach out to us by naming and shaming the bad actors. Together, I am confident that we can weed out bad actors and harness the immense potential of this progressive technology for the benefit of all Nigerians in tandem with this government’s renewed hope agenda” he added.
He noted that in a bid to rid the Virtual Assets space of illegal trading activities, the Commission will go all out to act decisively to uphold the integrity of the capital market and protect the interests of all investors.
Agama stated that the SEC Nigeria will not hesitate to utilize all the powers within its mandate to handle issues that are negative and pose a threat to national interest saying that the Commission has come as a partner to seek collaboration in making sure that the capital market community is one that is respected globally for decency and fair play.
He said: “There are basic practices as enshrined in the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and we expect that everyone will abide by those rules. Some may say there are no rules to play by, but do not forget that we have the Investments and Securities Act 2007 that some actions by participants today may be violating, hence the law is the law irrespective of the technology used.
