Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a revision to the regulations governing crypto service platforms, suggesting an increase in the registration fee for crypto exchanges from 30 million naira ($18,620) to 150 million naira ($93,000).
The SEC stated that the proposed changes were made to provide clarity and incorporate suggestions from industry stakeholders, particularly in light of recent discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria. These changes come after the SEC initially issued rules and guidelines for crypto and digital asset service providers in May 2022.
Under the updated guidelines, digital asset exchanges, offering platforms, and custodians will be required to pay an application fee of 300,000 naira ($186), up from the previous 100,000 naira ($62). The processing fee has also increased from 300,000 naira ($186) to 1 million naira ($620), while the registration fee has spiked by 400%, from 30 million naira ($18,620) to 150 million naira ($93,102).
Another proposed change involves renaming the rules and guidelines from “New Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets” to “Rules on Digital Assets Issuance, Offering Platforms, Exchange, and Custody.”
The SEC stated that these amendments aim to enhance clarity and incorporate input from industry stakeholders, as well as insights gained from recent discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
However, some have criticized the 500 million naira ($310,343) paid-up capital requirement, arguing that this high fee would primarily benefit foreign firms and disadvantage local entities.
Nigeria has emerged as one of the fastest-growing crypto economies in the world in recent years and was the second-largest crypto adoption economy in 2023. In August 2022, Nigeria was also named the most crypto-obsessed country based on the number of Google searches for “cryptocurrency” or “buy crypto.”
According to the Financial Times, Nigeria abandoned its currency peg and allowed the naira to trade freely in June 2023, leading to record-high inflation. In January 2024, Nigeria’s consumer inflation rose for the 13th consecutive month to nearly 30%, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.