The Senate has reiterated its commitment to collaborate with stakeholders in the Blockchain Association of Nigeria SIBAN to establish a legal framework for operations in the country’s cryptocurrency exchange market, aimed at promoting sustainable economic development.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Osita Izunaso, gave the assurance during an interactive session with members of the association in Abuja.
Senator Izunaso expressed satisfaction with the commitment of the association, as well as members of the committee, who despite being on recess, made time to attend the meeting.
He also commended SIBAN for its efforts in promoting the growth of the digital economy in Nigeria, describing it as vital for achieving robust economic sustainability.
The chairman of the committee further noted that they value the association’s foresight and dedication to fostering a safe, innovative, and well-regulated digital economy through legal means.
He explained that the topics proposed for discussion such as leveraging blockchain technology, ensuring investor protection, enhancing industry capacity, and advocating for supportive policy frameworks align closely with the committee’s objectives.
“We are eager to delver into these subjects and examine ways to enhance Nigeria’s capital market products and services. This meeting offers a valuable chance for us to collaborate and influence the future of our capital market”, he said ”
Meanwhile, several members of the committee, including Senators Victor Umeh, Jibrin Isa, and Mustapha Khabeeb, in their separate remarks, emphasized the need for enabling laws to regulate cryptocurrency operators in the country in line with existing legal frameworks.
In his submission, the President of SIBAN, Obinna Iwuno, noted that Nigeria ranked second globally in cryptocurrency adoption and first in Africa must provide a clear legal framework for blockchain technology and digital assets, similar to what is obtainable in the United States.
According to him, SIBAN currently operates as a self-regulatory body while partnering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to promote growth in the nation’s capital and digital asset markets.
He highlighted that Recently the US President Donald Trump signed a bill into law called the Genius Act , to enable the use of dollar stable coins which means the USA is also positioning itself to make sure that in the new global financial system that is coming, dollar does not lose its dominance and value as the global currency .
Therefore in Nigeria , We cannot afford to take the back seat after ranking second globally in Crypto Currency adoption, adding that in Africa, we take the lead. We contribute over 60 percent of Africa’s adoption and activities on the block chain.
Mr. Obinna believes that these are very important figures to note from chain analysis, release of transactions that has been done on the block chain, the figure was a staggering $59 billion , saying that it is even a tip of the iceberg of the potential that Nigeria can harness if we have the proper legal framework, structure, regulation, policy and required support to operate favourably.
Cov Bashir M
