The Speaker of the Nigerian House of representatives, Femi Gbajiagbamila has called for a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country, as he assents to the increasing acceptability of digital currencies globally.
The Speaker made the comments while speaking with the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), where he reiterated the need for regulation for Nigeria not to be left behind in the cryptocurrency terrain. In his words:
On the issue of cryptocurrency I think blockchain technology is novel and coming up strong. We don’t want to be left behind. Not too long ago a group of world leaders G20 met in Japan and one of the issues they discussed was blockchain technology and cryptocurrency…I think the world is taking the issue of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology seriously. We don’t want to be left behind; we have to take it seriously.
He continued:
The House is ready to work with you on that so that we don’t get left behind and within legislation and regulation of blockchain application that will put Nigeria within that rank of advanced technology.
Gbajiagbamila further acknowledged the huge annual Bitcoin trading figures in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for transparency and advancement of the technology. He also discussed the separation of functions of the NDIC and CBN to prevent overlapping scenarios.
Talks of a House Committee on Banking and Currency were also discussed at the meeting.
The NDIC serves as an insurance firm for depositors in the Nigerian banking sector.
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