The Federal Government has suspended its plan to ban cryptocurrencies.
The Securities and Exchange Commission made this known in a statement on Thursday.
“For the purpose of admittance into the SEC regulatory incubation framework, the assessment of all persons and products affected by the CBN circular of Feb. 5, 2021, is hereby put on hold until such persons are able to operate bank accounts within the Nigerian banking system,” SEC said.
The exchange commission’s statement came days after Nigeria’s apex bank ordered financial institutions in the country to close accounts dealing in cryptocurrencies, saying the transactions posed risks to the economy.
SEC said its statement was necessitated due to several comments and inquiries from the public that there is a conflict between the SEC Statement on Digital Assets and their Classification and Treatment of September 11, 2020, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Circular of February 5, 2021.
“We see no such contradictions or inconsistencies,” SEC said.
In reaction to CBN’s circular, Luno, a cryptocurrency trading platform Luno paused naira deposits pending the time it gets “urther clarity from the authorities.”
