The Nigerian government's Federal Executive Council has approved the country's national blockchain policy as part of its efforts to switch to a digital economy.
The policy was prepared by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim, after several consultations with the public and private sectors.
- The country's blockchain policy aims to create a blockchain-based economy that allows secure transactions, data sharing, and value exchange between citizens, companies, and the government.
- The policy draft was first released in 2020 and claimed that blockchain technology would accelerate the development of the Nigerian digital economy.
- The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE) and a multisectoral steering committee will be responsible for overseeing the policy implementation.
- The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will also coordinate the initiatives regarding the blockchain strategy.
- Several regulatory bodies, including the NITDA, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, have already been instructed for the implementation of blockchain technology in different sectors.
- Nigeria is one of the most crypto-interested countries, though its government started cracking down on digital assets in 2021.
- Nigeria's central bank currently does not permit crypto trade in the country, but a central bank digital currency (CBDC) dubbed eNaira is already in use.
- The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced its plans to allow tokens backed by assets like equity, debt, and property on licensed digital asset exchanges.