Nigerian government formally approves blockchain use

The Nigeria Federal Executive Council has approved the National Policy on Blockchain drafted by the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy, paving the way for the formal use of blockchain technology in the country.

In a May 2 tweet, the special assistant to the President on digital and new media, Tolu Ogunlesi, said relevant agencies would be working to develop appropriate regulatory frameworks. He said the government established a steering committee led by the National Information and Technology Development Agency to oversee policy implementation.

However, the approved policy is not yet public. Ogunlesi promised that this would be provided soon.

Many Nigerians have welcomed the news of the approval even without seeing the policy document. Some have also questioned if the new policy legalizes crypto usage in the country.

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibited financial institutions from providing their services for crypto-related transactions.

Since then, the CBN has yet to clarify its stance towards the industry. However, that has not stopped cryptocurrency adoption — Chainalysis ranked Nigeria in the top 20 of its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Nigeria’s pro-crypto moves

Meanwhile, this policy continues a recent series of pro-crypto moves made by Africa’s most populous country. Earlier this week, CryptoSlate reported that the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission plans to support asset tokenization.

According to the report, the financial regulator is currently processing applications from fintech firms that would serve as sub-brokers, crowdfunding intermediaries, tokenized coin issuers, and fund managers.

Before that, another Nigerian government agency met with Binance to discuss establishing a virtual assets free trade zone similar to the Dubai free trade zone in the country.

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