Emomotimi Agama, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has said the commission will soon begin enforcement actions against individuals, businesses, and unregulated crypto exchanges operating outside its regulations.
According to a statement, he said, “We are certainly going to commence enforcement actions on anyone who wants to operate in this market without the intention of being regulated. For those that do not want to play by the books, we will not allow them to operate within our space.”
Agama noted that the commission is determined to protect all investors. The capital market regulator recently gave approvals in principle to Quidax and Busha, legally sanctioning them as official crypto exchanges.
The two exchanges were approved under the Commission’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP). Four other companies were also admitted to test their models and technology under its Regulatory Incubation (RI) Program. The four firms are Trovotech Ltd, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Dream City Capital, and HousingExhange.NG Ltd.
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The director noted that the recent regulations are meant to tap into the increasing interest of young Nigerians in digital assets. He stated that providing a clear regulatory framework that protects investors while encouraging innovation became necessary.
Agama disclosed that the SEC had received more applications from crypto exchanges but clarified that the number of registered exchanges would be determined by their ability to meet the commission’s strict regulatory standards.
He said the commission is also taking steps to safeguard citizens from misinformation and fraudulent activities in the digital market space. According to him, the activities of crypto exchanges must be closely monitored/
“All these we seek to do without hindering innovation because part of our primary responsibility as the SEC is market development,” Agama added.
