Nigeria’s central bank reversed a 2021 restriction on cryptocurrency-related banking activity, allowing banks and other financial institutions to provide services to licensed virtual asset service providers under new rules. The policy shift was set out in a late-December 2023 circular from the Central Bank of Nigeria and reported by Reuters, with the bank saying the move reflects the need for regulation as crypto activity expands globally. The change does not mean Nigerian banks can trade or hold crypto on their own accounts. Instead, the new framework permits account opening and other banking services for compliant crypto businesses, subject to licensing and monitoring requirements tied to the Securities and Exchange Commission and anti-money-laundering controls. The reversal matters because Nigeria has one of the world’s largest and most active crypto user bases, so the decision formally brings a large market further into the regulated financial system while preserving limits on direct bank exposure.

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