Over $50b may be trapped in crypto exchanges as FG begins clamp down

guardian.ng:

•To stop trading of naira on P2P platforms

The Federal Government, through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is set to stop the trading of naira on all virtual peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms to hedge the currency against manipulation.

The plan, if successful, would close the cryptocurrency trading door against fresh entrants, leaving existing investments estimated at over $50 billion trapped on different exchanges.

But traders see the move as a mere official statement that may not be practically enforceable.

This is not the first time the government has moved against crypto platforms. The most recent case involving Binance only triggered the adoption of offers by rival virtual asset custodians firms where millions of young people now trade usdt (the leading stablecoin used to buy other cryptocurrencies) for naira.

The SEC’s Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, disclosed the latest move during an interactive session with the Nigerian blockchain industry, yesterday. This is expected to be part of a couple of regulations that will be rolled out in the coming days to rein in the reckless manipulation of naira using virtual currencies.

Agama said: “That is one of the things that must be done to save this space. The delisting of the naira from the P2P platforms is to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening. I want your cooperation in dealing with this as we roll out regulations in the coming days.”

Agama, who made efforts to reassure the ecosystem’s stakeholders at the meeting, declared that SEC was ready to work with everyone in the space. He noted that the commission is updating its guidelines in the hope of ensuring best practices.

The SEC DG decried how some market players were manipulating the value