The Federal Government is set to delist the naira from all peer-to-peer crypto platforms.
It will do this through the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the government steps up efforts to tackle exchange rate manipulators and dollar racketeers.
The development came against the backdrop of the recent moves by the Federal Government to regulate Nigeria’s crypto market estimated at $57bn.
The newly-appointed Director-General of the Commission, Emomotimi Agama, disclosed the government’s latest plan during a meeting with members of the Nigerian blockchain industry on Monday.
The meeting was organised by the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria.
Agama confirmed that the government was currently drafting a new set of regulations to govern the crypto sector.
“That is one of the things that must be done to save this space; the delisting of the naira from the P2P platforms to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening. I want your cooperation in dealing with this as we roll out regulations in the coming days,” the SEC DG told the members of the local crypto community.
Agama’s announcement came barely a week after the Central Bank of Nigeria instructed payment service banks to caution their customers against engaging in crypto transactions.