The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria said that it has given Quidax and Busha, two cryptocurrency exchanges, Approval-in-Principle, granting them the status of legally recognized cryptocurrency trading platforms in the nation.
The two exchanges were approved under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP) program of the Commission.
Furthermore, the Commission announced that four businesses have been accepted into its Regulatory Incubation (RI) Program to test their ideas and technologies.
The four firms are digital assets offering platforms, which include Trovotech Ltd, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Dream City Capital, and HousingExhange.NG Ltd.
Announcing the development via a statement on Thursday, the SEC the listed above firms are not the only entities that have applied to ARIP and the RI Program. It added that other applications received are being assessed would be granted Approval-in-Principle on a case-by-case basis as they meet all SEC requirements.
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Legal recognition for crypto trading
While noting that the referenced Approvals-in-Principle is a precursor to the grant of full registration by the SEC, the Commission emphasized the legal status of the companies as crypto trading platforms in Nigeria.
“The SEC uses this medium to reiterate that only approved digital exchanges and platforms are legally authorized to carry out the business of crypto trading in any form in Nigeria.
“In this regard, the ARIP and RI remain the only avenues for well-intentioned entities to legitimately introduce their digital products and services to the Nigerian Capital market.
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“The public is strongly advised to refrain from dealing with illegal operators who have not applied to and received the SEC’s approval under the ARIP or the RI Program.
“Intending investors are also reminded to always confirm from the various SEC information portals whether entities purporting to provide investment services are legally empowered to so do,” the Commission stated.
