Nigeria to pass a law legalizing the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

According to a local Nigerian newspaper, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions of Nigeria, Babangida Ibrahim, has stated that the country is planning to pass a law legalizing the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

If the proposed amendments to the 2007 Investments and Securities Act are passed, bitcoin will be recognized as legal capital for investment in Nigeria.

This would be a significant change, as earlier in 2021 the country effectively banned the use of bitcoin by issuing a letter prohibiting regulated financial businesses from “dealing” with cryptocurrencies.

However, Nigeria has seen a rapid increase in bitcoin adoption, with the country becoming the world’s largest volume of bitcoin peer-to-peer trading in 2021 according to Bitcoin Magazine.

If the proposed regulation effectively addresses the increasing use of bitcoin in Nigeria, it could have a major impact on the country, which is the most populous in Africa.