Nigerian authorities formally approve the use of blockchain

The Nigeria Federal Executive Council has approved the National Policy on Blockchain prepared by the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy, paving the way for the formal use of blockchain technology in the country.

In a May 2 chirping, the Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi, said relevant agencies will work to develop appropriate regulatory frameworks. He said the government established a steering committee headed by the National Information and Technology Development Agency to oversee the implementation of policies.

However, the approved policy is not yet public. Ogunlesi promised that this would be granted soon.

Many Nigerians have welcome the news of the approval even without seeing the policy document. Some have too asked if the new policy legalizes crypto use in the country.

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned financial institutions from offering their services for crypto-related transactions.

Since then, the CBN is yet to clarify its position on the industry. However, that hasn’t stopped cryptocurrency adoption – Chainalysis ranked Nigeria in the top 20 of its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Nigeria’s Pro-Crypto Move

Meanwhile, this policy continues a recent series of pro-crypto moves made by Africa’s most populous country. Earlier this week, CryptoSlate reported that the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission plans to support asset tokenization.

According to the report, the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority is currently processing applications from fintech firms that will act as sub-brokers, crowdfunding intermediaries, tokenized coin issuers and fund managers.

Prior to that, another Nigerian government agency met with Binance to discuss establishing a virtual free trade zone for assets similar to Dubai’s free trade zone in the country.