The Naira is now being removed from peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platforms by cryptocurrency exchanges, according to information released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday.
As part of steps to guard against currency manipulation, the SEC and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) ordered digital currency operators last week to remove the Naira from their platforms.
The commission clarified that the exchange has already started making the required technological improvements to support the delisting of the Naira as soon as practically possible and that its inspections have shown that the Naira has been withdrawn as a fiat currency option for transactions on the KuCoin platform.
It clarified that the Naira’s removal from the platforms restricts the capacity to influence exchange rates in relation to Nigerian currency, which is anticipated to increase the Naira’s value.
In response to KuCoin’s delisting, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, the interim director general of the SEC, expressed happiness that the cryptocurrency exchanges were following ONSA and SEC orders, calling it a positive development.
“We are pleased that they have begun adhering to the ONSA’s directives,” he said. We demand that those engaged in cutting activities that jeopardise the interests of the country stop. Protecting our property is in our best interests as a people. Anyone who disregards instructions should be prepared to bear the full consequences of their actions.
In order to accomplish the national goal of ensuring that illegality is not allowed to flourish, Agama stated that the SEC, as the top capital market regulator, is “cooperating with the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other relevant agencies.”