By TAIYE OLAYEMI

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it is engaging with developers to co-create a framework for the regulation of stablecoins.

Dr Emomotimi Agama, Director-General of SEC, in statement on Monday in Lagos, was quoted to have disclosed this in a keynote speech at the 2025 Decentralised Finance (DeFi) Conference.

Agama said that the commission had been working with DeFi to attract credible players.

He said, “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.”

Speaking on the future of the sector, Agama said that regulatory evolution, through an expanded licensing regime, was in progress.

“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. Having a framework will allow digital asset innovation to serve real-world economic activity, not just speculation.”

The SEC DG noted that the Nigerian digital assets industry had experienced a significant boom, stressing that over 65 per cent of cryptocurrency users in Nigeria are under the age of 35.

“These are digital natives, many of whom are financially excluded or underserved by traditional banking. For them, digital assets represent not just speculation but empowerment, a means to save, invest, transact, and create wealth on their terms.

“The SEC is also reviewing pathways for digital asset Exchange Traded Funds, custodial wallets for pension funds (with Nigeria’s pension fund assets capped at N16 trillion), and licensed asset managers offering tokenised securities to institutional investors.

“This will unlock long-term capital and bring credibility and stability to the sector,” he said. (NAN)

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