Lack of crypto regulation drives P2P growth in Nigeria – SIBAN

Bitcoin and Dash, Ripple, Monero, Litecoin in blurred close-up against piles of gold coins. Meaning of cryptocurrency on market growth concept. 3D rendering

Stakeholders at the Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), the cryptocurrency industry umbrella body, have blamed the rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading in the country to the lack of regulation, amid increased concerns that the government could soon ban P2P.

The President of SIBAN, Mr. Obinna Iwuno, stated this on Saturday during an X-space to discuss the state of web3 in Nigeria. The space took place against the backdrop of the government’s recent crackdown on crypto trading.

According to Iwuno, if the government had regulated the sector, many Nigerians would have traded through regulated exchanges and not P2P. While the government has banned banks and fintechs from processing any crypto-related transactions, the SIBAN president expressed concern that crypto trading could soon be criminalized if nothing is done to raise awareness to the government this activity.

The need for regulation

While insisting that the industry needs regulation, the SIBAN president said all stakeholders must now speak out to whitewash allegations that crypto is being used to manipulate the Nigerian currency.

• “We need regulation as an industry. Regulation will help us more than an unregulated sector would help us. In fact, the reason P2P is currently being singled out is the lack of regulation.
• “And if the government had regulated the industry, I bet you there wouldn’t have been an increase in P2P because everyone would have been trading through regulated agencies and exchanges and we wouldn’t would not have had a problem with such an increase in unregulated P2P. and now accused of economic sabotage and manipulation of exchange rates, which affects the economy,” Iwuno said during the online meeting attended by several crypto traders.

Changing the narratives

The SIBAN president said stakeholders must now come together to change the narrative that they are sabotaging the economy. According to him, the image of the crypto industry presented by the government is not what it is.

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• “I think it’s time for us to make the right decision and adopt approaches that don’t expose us to these types of attacks that we face as an industry. We want to be in the right place with the government.
• “The reason is very simple. When we have a regulated space, it will help us achieve economic development and wealth creation through this technology. We have a great chance of achieving this only when we operate in a regulated space. unregulated.
• “What we are seeing now is not the action of our industry, but because certain things have been done to make it appear that this is what our industry stands for. Accusing fingers are being pointed at us when we are not to blame and it is a problem that we must face, because if we do not it risks spreading even further than it currently is and harm the industry more than ever. it’s already.
• “We don’t want to wake up one day and crypto has been criminalized and then made illegitimate, illegal and against the law,” he said.

The back story

Nigeria’s National Security Advisor (NSA) recently classified cryptocurrency trading as a national security concern. With this, the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered four fintech startups operating in the country – Opay, Moniepoint, Paga and Palmpay – to block the accounts of customers transacting in cryptocurrency and report such transactions to law enforcement. order.

Earlier, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts belonging to different individuals and companies allegedly involved in illicit foreign exchange transactions.

All affected fintechs have since sent messages to their customers warning them against any crypto-related transactions. In a message to its customers on Friday, one of the fintechs, OPay, said it block any account found engaged in such transactions and also forwards the details of the account holder to the regulator. Other fintechs have since sent a similar warning message to their customers.

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