According to a local Nigerian newspaper, Babangida Ibrahim, head of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, the government would soon approve legislation making the use of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies lawful.
The proposed amendments, if implemented, would govern bitcoin and cryptocurrency use in the African country. The bill would alter the Investments and Securities Act of 2007 to recognize bitcoin as legitimate investment capital. Nigeria essentially outlawed the use of bitcoin in February 2021 with a letter barring authorized financial firms from “dealing” with cryptocurrencies.
BREAKING‼️ Nigeria to recognise #Bitcoin and crypto as "capital for investment" with the passing of new law.
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) December 18, 2022
Within the same year, Bitcoin Magazine stated that Nigeria had surpassed the United States as the country with the highest amount of peer-to-peer trade. Moreover, Chainanalysis findings indicated that Nigeria had substantially accelerated bitcoin adoption.
The newspaper story highlighted how Ibrahim referred to Nigeria as being behind concerning the regulation of the business. There is a need for an effective and thriving capital market in Nigeria. Further, if the new rule addresses the nation’s expanding bitcoin use, it might be a big accelerator for Africa’s most populous country.
Despite the prohibition, Bitcoin has had a significant presence in the nation, including establishing a Bitcoin town; Nigerian Bitcoiners engaged in many forms of development, humanitarian activity by Bitcoin firms, and mining to be an active industry there.
