Nigeria Passes Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Law

blockchain.news:

A little more than a year after its introduction in October 2021, Nigeria's eNaira has only managed to get an adoption rate of 0.5%. The legislation that is set to be passed comes as a result of this fact. According to recent reports, the government of Nigeria will soon approve a legislation that will officially recognize the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a method for the country to bring its practices in line with those of the rest of the world.

Following an interview with House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets Chairman Babangida Ibrahim, the news was published in the Nigerian-based masthead Punch Newspapers on December 18th. According to the report, if the Investments and Securities Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill is passed and signed into law, it will enable the local Securities and Exchange Commission to recognize cryptocurrency and other digital funds as investment capital. Currently, the SEC does not recognize these types of funds as investment capital.

The report comes almost 24 months after Nigeria banned cryptocurrency activity in February 2021. At that time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered Nigerian cryptocurrency exchanges and service providers to cease activity and mandated that banks close the accounts of any individuals or entities found to be engaging in trading activities. This report comes almost 24 months after those events.