The Nigerian government has announced plans to delist the naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms.
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, made this disclosure in a virtual meeting with blockchain stakeholders on Monday.
This decision aims to tackle the manipulation of the local currency’s value in the foreign exchange market.
The country’s regulatory authorities have been investigating and scrutinising cryptocurrency exchanges in recent months.
On March 8, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, stopped its naira services as the Nigerian government seeks $10 billion in compensation amid a crackdown on the crypto exchange.
The P2P feature allows users, buyers and sellers to trade without involving a third party. It became popular in Nigeria in 2021 following the government’s ban on its thriving crypto industry during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Due to the rapid decline of the naira and the resulting almost three-decade-high inflation rate of 29.9%, the government turned its focus to platforms providing cryptocurrency services.
