{"id":11224,"date":"2024-05-08T14:05:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T14:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/nigeria-threatens-crypto-knockout-p2p-ban-looms-in-fintech-feud\/"},"modified":"2024-05-08T14:08:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T14:08:10","slug":"nigeria-threatens-crypto-knockout-p2p-ban-looms-in-fintech-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/nigeria-threatens-crypto-knockout-p2p-ban-looms-in-fintech-feud\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Planning to Ban Cryptocurrency Trading: Suggests Prohibiting P2P Transactions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p data-sourcepos=\"3:1-3:68\">Nigeria is shifting from its previous lukewarm viewpoint on cryptocurrency towards an outright ban. The country\u2019s government, alarmed by possible manipulation of the Naira, is considering <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/punchng.com\/dollar-speculation-fg-to-ban-naira-from-crypto-trading-platforms\/\">prohibiting P2P (Peer-to-Peer) trading platforms<\/a> that use local currency. This development, added to continuing legal issues with major exchanges, raises questions about the future of cryptocurrency in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<h2 data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:43\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_the_Naira_at_Risk_The_Crypto_Controversy\"><\/span><strong>Is the Naira at Risk? The Crypto Controversy<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:147\">The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria contends that individuals and exchanges dealing in cryptocurrency are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-05-07\/nigeria-to-ban-person-to-person-crypto-trade-in-battered-naira\">affecting the Naira\u2019s value<\/a> via P2P transactions. The recently appointed Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, proposes to counter this by removing the Naira from all P2P platforms.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:147\">Agama emphasized the government\u2019s commitment to tackling the perceived risk by stating:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n\u201cWe must undertake this measure to preserve this sector.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"9:1-9:219\">The proposed ban on P2P could pose significant challenges for cryptocurrency investors in Nigeria. P2P platforms provide a cheaper and convenient way to purchase and sell <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/coinmarketcap.com\/\">cryptocurrency<\/a> using local currency, compared to conventional exchange methods. If the Naira was removed, the locals would face challenges in entering and exiting the crypto market, possibly obstructing its growth and acceptance.<\/p>\n<h2 data-sourcepos=\"11:1-11:37\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cryptocurrency_Exchanges_Under_Pressure\"><\/span><strong>Cryptocurrency Exchanges Under Pressure<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:470\">The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/cryptocurrency\/2024\/nigeria-moves-ban-p2p-naira-crypto-trading\/\">stringent regulation<\/a> isn\u2019t just affecting P2P platforms. Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance, already caught up in a long dispute with the Nigerian government, felt the impact early on.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:470\">In March, Binance halted all Naira-related services following the arrest of two executives and allegations of regulation violations. The saga continues \u2013 Binance now faces legal charges, and its executives are involved in a separate tax evasion conflict with Nigerian authorities.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:470\"><\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"15:1-15:303\">Following Binance\u2019s action, OKX, another leading cryptocurrency exchange, removed the Naira from its P2P marketplace on May 3rd. Though OKX did not explicitly state regulatory issues for this, their explanation of a \u201cchange in local market requirements\u201d indicates a prudent approach in view of Nigeria\u2019s tightening regulation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Unresolved Issues and Uncertain Future<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"19:1-19:191\">The impact of a P2P ban on preventing alleged manipulation remains to be seen. Cryptocurrency inherently crosses borders and Nigerian investors could potentially resort to international P2P platforms or different methods to evade limitations. Furthermore, the details of the broader planned regulations aimed at the local crypto industry are still not known.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"21:1-21:362\">The current scenario isn\u2019t promising for cryptocurrency enthusiasts in Nigeria. With local investors having fewer options, major exchanges are hesitant to operate in the country, and the regulatory environment is unclear. While the government attempts to implement control, this crackdown may curb innovation and push Nigerians towards unregulated options within the cryptocurrency industry.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"25:1-25:380\">Nigeria\u2019s actions against cryptocurrency P2P platforms could significantly impact Africa\u2019s evolving cryptocurrency market. Whether the government\u2019s concerns translate into effective regulations or cripple an emerging industry is unclear. For now, cryptocurrency investors in Nigeria are left to navigate an uncertain landscape.<\/p>\n<p data-sourcepos=\"25:1-25:380\"><em>Featured image from Techopedia, chart from TradingView<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigeria is shifting from its previous lukewarm viewpoint on cryptocurrency towards an outright ban. The country\u2019s government, alarmed by possible manipulation of the Naira, is considering prohibiting P2P (Peer-to-Peer) trading platforms that use local currency. This development, added to continuing legal issues with major exchanges, raises questions about the future of cryptocurrency in Nigeria. Is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Nigeria Planning to Ban Cryptocurrency Trading: Suggests Prohibiting P2P Transactions - Bitrabo","description":"Nigeria is shifting from its previous lukewarm viewpoint on cryptocurrency towards an outright ban. The country's government, alarmed by possible manipulation o"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[1859,504,3973,3972,3214,2190,2181,1282,3971],"class_list":["post-11224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crypto-news","tag-ban","tag-crypto","tag-feud","tag-fintech","tag-knockout","tag-looms","tag-nigeria","tag-p2p","tag-threatens"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}