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Name those involved in naira manipulation, SEC DG urges crypto community - PUNCH
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, has urged members of the crypto community in Nigeria to name and shame the players involved in the manipulation of the naira.
Agama made this plea at an ongoing meeting which was organised by the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria, to interact with industry players on Monday.
The DG maintained that some bad players in the industry were manipulating the national currency, an act which the government heavily frowned on.
“We ask with all sense of sincerity that those involved in sharp practices cease and desist. We encourage you to reach out to us by naming and shaming those involved.
“This nation has a future and this future is dependent on this community. For us at the SEC, our interest is to provide an enabling environment for fintech to thrive and by so doing, we expect the fintech community would reciprocate by doing the right thing,” Agama stated.
He added, “Patriotism can never be wished away. Whatever we do that would bring dishonour to our country, we must try to avoid it. What is very critical and which has brought about this meeting is the concerns regarding crypto P2P traders and their effect on the naira.”
In 2021, the CBN restricted banks and other financial institutions from operating accounts for cryptocurrency service providers.
However, in December 2023, the financial regulator lifted the ban and announced a reversal of the policy.
Fresh concerns emerged in February over the activities of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, on its peer-to-peer platform, such as implementing a price cap on USDT trading.
Authorities said those activities contributed to the devaluation of the naira and destabilised Nigeria’s economy.
Nigeria’s volume of crypto transactions grew by nine per cent year-over-year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, according to the 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report by Chainalysis, a United States-based international blockchain analysis firm.
