- Nigeria could be about to legalize crypto payments
- A government spokesman said a bill is being considered that would undo a February 2021 ban
- The move would not go as far as acceptance of any cryptocurrency as legal tender
Nigeria could be the latest country to jump aboard the crypto bandwagon. Local Nigerian newspaper Punch this week reported the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions of Nigeria, Babangida Ibrahim, as saying that the country will soon pass a law to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies for payment. If this comes to pass, this would make Nigeria the fourth country to pass such a rule, following the Central African Republic, Brazil and, famously, El Salvador.
Bill Would Represent Huge U-turn
The bill to legalize crypto, which would be an amendment of the 2007 Investments and Securities Act, would recognize cryptocurrencies as a legal capital for investment. In a startling turnaround, it would essentially overturn the country’s banning of cryptocurrencies in February 2021 when it prohibited regulated financial businesses from “dealing” with cryptocurrencies.
Despite the current ban, cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have had a significant presence in Nigeria. Such examples include the construction of a “Bitcoin village,” active bitcoin mining industry, and various development and philanthropic efforts by Nigerian bitcoiners and bitcoin companies. If the proposed regulation addresses the growing use of Bitcoin in the country, it could be a major catalyst for Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa.
Crypto Would Not be Legal Tender
Were the bill to pass, Nigeria would join fellow African state the Central African Republic in adopting Bitcoin, which it voted to do back in May. However, it seems that the bill would not be a formal acceptance of any specific cryptocurrency as legal tender, but would instead follow the model adopted by Brazil, which legalized crypto payments at the end of November but did not make any legal tender.
This is to avoid requiring all merchants and services to have infrastructure in place to accept such payments by law, as we saw in El Salvador.
