The Federal Government has announced plans to delist the naira from all peer-to-peer, P2P, platforms.
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Emomotimi Agama, made this disclosure in a virtual meeting with block chain stakeholders on Monday.
This decision aims to tackle the manipulation of the local currency’s value in the foreign exchange market.
P2P platforms allow two parties to connect directly to engage in financial transactions without the involvement of traditional financial institutions.
In a statement by SEC, Agama said the decision was taken to avoid the level of “manipulation” happening in the cryptocurrency space.
The DG, concerns regarding crypto P2P traders and their perceived impact on the exchange rate underscores the need for collective action and dialogue within the financial market ecosystem.
Agama said those involved in sharp practices that undermine national interest should desist from such activities, adding that stakeholders should reach out to SEC to name and shame the bad actors.
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He said actions are being taken to rid the virtual assets space of illegal trading activities, and SEC will go all out to act decisively to uphold the integrity of the capital market and protect the interests of all investors.
the DG requested the support of the industry to strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding the national economic interests.
“With our deep understanding of this industry and the cryptocurrency sub-sector, we recognize the importance of collaboration and cooperation in addressing the challenges we face; hence your insights and suggestions are invaluable as we seek to navigate these complexities together. We need your support as much as you need ours,” he said.
“On that note, I want to emphasize that we are working on different fronts to sustain decent practices within our market, however, we are here to meet ourselves to know those playing within the sector decently and are open to hearing your suggestions on how we can effectively manage all obscure cryptocurrency trading activities within our jurisdiction p2p inclusive irrespective of the challenge we all know that p2p trading posses.
“We must explore innovative solutions to this problem and strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding our national economic interests. This we will do in a friendly and firm manner, to enable us to achieve the desired result,” he said.
Agama said SEC will not hesitate to utilize all the powers within its mandate to handle issues that are negative and pose a threat to national interest.
He said SEC will ensure Nigeria’s capital market community is respected globally for decency and fair play.
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