World’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, has partnered with the Nigerian government to develop the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) to promote a digital economic zone just like the UAE.
This collaboration with Binance comes after similar strides were achieved in Busan and South Korea.
Blomberg reports that Nigerian authorities aim to build a region similar to Dubai’s virtual free zone, the first in West Africa.
According to Adesoji Adesugba, NEPZA’s managing director, the purpose of the collaboration is to create a flourishing virtual free zone so that it can benefit from the almost trillion-dollar virtual economy in blockchains and the digital economy.
It would be recalled that the crypto exchange had signed an agreement with Busan to enhance the city’s technological and infrastructural support. The partnership also targeted the growth of the city’s digital asset exchange and blockchain ecosystem.
The relationship between the Nigerian government and crypto exchanges hasn’t been interesting as the Central Bank of Nigeria had restricted banks from facilitating crypto trades in 2021, citing the demerits of digital currencies.
Despite this, the Securities and Exchange Commission, in May, released a guideline for digital currencies, noting that the regulation was to promote market transparency and investor transparency.
Despite the regulatory uncertainty, Nigerians remain at the forefront of the crypto chain.
Nevertheless, Nigerians continue to use cryptocurrency despite the country’s uncertain regulatory position.
