The Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, has disclosed that the Commission is engaging with developers to co-create a framework for regulation of stablecoins.
Agama who made this disclosure 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. 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”.