Nigeria’s national blockchain policy green lighted by government

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE) has approved the National Blockchain Policy as the country doubles down on creating a blockchain-powered economy.

The adoption of the policy by the government will pave the way for formal exploitation of the technology in the country, which has seen significant crypto adoption in recent years. FMCDE believes the implementation will have a positive effect on both the public and private sectors in Nigeria.

Blockchain adoption

The latest push towards blockchain has also been prompted by Nigeria’s efforts to move away from its heavy economic dependence on the oil and gas sector and instead allow its economy to “leap” to one powered by digital technologies.

As such, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy developed the National Blockchain Policy to diversify the economy on behalf of the Federal Government. This is in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), which was unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2019.

Subsequently, the first draft of the policy released in October 2020 outlined the strategy and stated that it is in line with the 8 pillars of the ‘DIGITAL NIGERIA’ road map of the FMCDE. They focus on – development regulation, digital competence and skills, solid infrastructure, service infrastructure, development and marketing of digital services, soft infrastructure, digital society and emerging technologies, and finally, development and adoption of indigenous content.

“The vision of the policy is to create a blockchain-powered economy that supports secure transactions, data sharing and value exchange between people, businesses and governments, thereby increasing innovation, trust, growth and prosperity for all. The implementation of the national blockchain policy will have a positive effect on both public and private sector in the country.”

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will be tasked with coordinating the policy initiatives under the supervision of FMCDE. The authorities have also established a multi-sectoral steering committee to monitor the implementation of policies.

The Federal Executive Council, on the other hand, directed relevant regulatory agencies – NITDA, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Universities Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Communications Commission to develop regulatory structures for blockchain implementation across various sectors of the economy.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s SEC plans to support tokenization, with the main focus on real-world assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. However, cryptocurrency is not on the roadmap.

Earlier this year, the country witnessed a cash shortage that led to violent protests, leaving countless citizens injured and a few dead. Nigerians have flocked to cryptocurrencies to hedge against current inflation and avoid the various restrictions on naira transactions in online payments. The African country was ranked number 11 on the Chainalysis 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index and number 17 for peer-to-peer exchange trading.

Blockchain Tech Adoption Trajectory

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently published a report that extensively analyzes blockchain technology. It observed that blockchain, which happens to be one of the “world’s fastest-growing technologies,” could boost the global economy by $1.76 trillion by 2030.

The economists at the financial giant expect the majority of businesses to utilize blockchain by 2025. By 2025, blockchain’s GDP is estimated to reach 422 billion dollars.