Nigerian authorities have been told to consider making upgrades to the crypto regulatory guidelines in the country because the existing ones do not align with ground realities.
Legal experts have indicated that there is growing interest in cryptocurrencies amongst the Nigerian people, which means that the industry needs to have ‘clear-cut’ guidelines.
An upgrade
Nigeria recently held a two-day workshop in which legal experts urged the authorities to consider making upgrades to the existing regulatory guidelines for the crypto industry in the country.
The experts stated that they need to make this upgrade because the current regulations have mostly been ignored by Nigerians, particularly those that aim to stifle investment or trade in crypto.
According to recent reports, Nigerians are evading the restrictions that the country’s central bank has imposed on crypto trading or investment through the use of P2P trading platforms.
For instance, the first half of this year saw Nigerians conduct trades of about $400 million via the P2P crypto exchange Paxful.
Furthermore, a recent survey discovered that the residents of the West African country are the most interested in these digital currencies all over the world.
Clear guidelines
Legal experts said that Nigeria needs to have clear guidelines for the crypto industry also because of the amount of investment that is being made in the industry.
Roger Geisler was one of the experts who spoke. He is a special agent in the Attorney General’s Office in Arizona.
He gave an example of a risk that a lot of crypto users encounter, but putting proper guidelines in place can help minimize it.
He stated that Google Play Store has fraudulent crypto wallets and these are usually clones that are designed to appear authentic.
He stated that once a crypto user adds money to the wallet, the money is stolen and they are left empty-handed.
Digital currency income
David Awe was another legal expert, who leads the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), and he highlighted the challenges when it comes to developing a regulatory framework for smart contracts and blockchain.
But, the experts also agree that it is also the job of lawyers to ensure that the smart contracts are also in accordance with the established criteria.
The chairman of the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikechukwu Uwanna, said that lawyers should be looking for ways that can be used to generate income from the crypto industry.
He stated that crypto is the hot topic these days and everyone seems to be discussing it. But, he said that the legal regulatory framework should also be talked about.
He also said that discussing the security issues associated with these digital assets was also important. He stated that all of these could generate more money for lawyers.
Nigeria is not the only country that is grappling with the challenge of developing appropriate regulations for the crypto industry.
Others are also faced with the same challenge, which is not easy to deal with, given the evolution of the crypto space.
