By Tony Obiechina Abuja
The Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama has disclosed that the Commission is engaging with developers to co-create a framework for regulation of stablecoins.
Agama who disclosed this in a keynote speech at the 2025 Decentralised Finance (DeFi) in Lagos, said the Commission is not looking to fight with DeFi but is working to attract credible players.
He explained that the Commission “believes responsible DeFi can thrive in a regulated environment, and the SEC is looking forward to enhancing investor education and digital literacy.
“This is why the SEC is launching a “Crypto Smart, Nigeria Strong” initiative, targeting young investors across schools, universities, and social media, teaching. It aims to cover basic blockchain principles, how to spot scams, and the value of long-term investing.
“The future of Nigeria’s digital assets ecosystem depends on three pillars: Collaboration, Innovation, and Trust”, he added.
Speaking on the future of the sector, he said: “The road we see ahead is regulatory evolution through an expanded licensing regime. We are enhancing our licensing architecture to make it more efficient, more transparent and more risk-based.
“Our goal is to attract credible operators while shutting out bad actors by streamlining application timelines, introducing tiered VASP licenses, and incorporating automated compliance monitoring.
“We are actively exploring a framework for Naira-pegged stablecoins. These will be fully backed by verifiable reserves, audited regularly by independent custodians, and used for cross-border trade, payments, and programmable finance.
“Having a framework will allow digital asset innovation to serve real-world economic activity, not just speculation.”
The SEC DG stated that the Nigerian digital assets industry has experienced a significant boom, stressing that over 65% of cryptocurrency users in Nigeria are under the age of 35.
“These are digital natives, many of whom are financially excluded or underserved by traditional banking. For them, digital assets represent not just speculation but empowerment, a means to save, invest, transact, and create wealth on their terms”, he stated.
The SEC, he said, “is also reviewing pathways for digital asset ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), custodial wallets for pension funds (with Nigeria’s pension fund assets capped at ₦16trillion), and licensed asset managers offering tokenised securities to institutional investors. This will unlock long-term capital and bring credibility and stability to the sector”.
