Key Takeaways
- The Nigerian Bourse with the launch of a blockchain-enabled platform looks forward to deploying the blockchain technology in the settlement of capital market transactions.
- The latest development is targeted at strengthening trade and attracting investors to the crypto market.
Nigerian Stock Exchange announces plans to launch a blockchain-enabled exchange platform in 2023. The latest development is targeted at strengthening trade and attracting investors to the crypto market.
With this new move, the Nigerian Bourse looks forward to deploying blockchain technology to settle capital market transactions. The latest development comes amidst the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s introduction of regulatory guidelines for digital assets. Temi Popoola, the CEO of Nigeria Exchange, believes young and upcoming Nigerians are interested in distributed ledger tech, and the exchange wants to see how it can deploy it to grow its market.
Popoola further states that digitizing transactions will help attract young buyers looking for a variety of products while also providing quick and easy access to the market. In 2021, MTN Group Ltd’s Nigeria unit released the exchange’s first complete electronic share offering, which was 1.2 times oversubscribed, with 85 percent of the investors being under 40 years old.
The African Continent is at present leaning more towards adopting distributed-ledger technology. In Kenya, lenders are seeking approval to deploy the distributed ledger tech in payments to reduce the instances of bad loans. South African authorities are also working with the fintech industry to enable the incorporation of the distributed-ledger technology in the financial markets.
Nigerians have always had a welcoming approach toward digital assets. According to recent reports, Nigerians traded at least USD 185m worth of Bitcoin in the first three months of 2022 despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions in the country. In February of 2021, Nigeria’s monetary authority asked banks in the nation to stop transacting in and with entities dealing in crypto assets.
Nigeria’s SEC said at the time it would seek to protect investors and make the market more transparent. In 2022, Nigeria introduced a digital currency called the eNaira to boost financial inclusion and literacy since the country’s third of the population have zero financial services. CBN has now softened its rigid stance towards digital assets and is now actively encouraging Nigerians to embrace eNaira.
