By Gloria Essien, Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Economic, Regulatory, and Security Implications of Cryptocurrency Adoption and Point-of-Sale (PoS) Operations, led by Mr Olufemi Bamisile, has held an extensive and deeply engaging session with cryptocurrency operators and digital asset innovators at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
The high-level meeting brought together a wide range of stakeholders from licensed exchanges and blockchain associations to fintech experts and regulatory representatives to deliberate on the challenges, opportunities, and future of Nigeria’s fast-evolving digital finance ecosystem.
The Committee Chairman, Mr Femi Bamisile, reaffirmed the House’s commitment to providing the clear regulatory direction and legal certainty the cryptocurrency sector urgently needs.
“Our goal is to create a framework that supports innovation without compromising security or financial integrity. Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind in the digital economy, but our progress must be anchored on transparency, coordination, and accountability,” he said.
He urged security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to build technical expertise in blockchain and cryptocurrency operations.
He emphasised that not every young Nigerian with a laptop and a crypto wallet is a fraudster, and highlighted the need for informed enforcement and training to distinguish between innovation and financial crime.
Committee members, including Hon. Kama Nkemkama and Hon. Akinosi, echoed the Chairman’s position, pledging to ensure that the final legislative outcome is fair, inclusive, and aligned with global best practices.
The hearing featured robust discussions with some of Nigeria’s most influential digital asset leaders, including Buchi Okoro (Quidax), Moyo Shodipo (Busha), Olaniyi Atose (KoinKoin), Oluwasegun Kosemani, a bitcoin strategist (Botmecash), Ayotunde Alabi (Luno Nigeria), Igwe Goodnews (Downtown), and Emeka Ezike (Bitbarter).
Representatives from key associations were also present: Obinna Iwuno, President of SiBAN; Janet Oloyede of Autin Peters & Partners representing SiBAN; Chioma Oyekwelu representing A&D Forensics; Uyoyo, CEO of CNGN representing Convexity; Senator Ihenyen, President of VASPA; Faith Okaformbah, of the Blockchain Expert Association of Nigeria (BEAN); as well as representatives from HX Africa, Three Ace Group, Trojan Mining, Superteam, Cryptonian, and Blockchaindotcom.
They all commended the Committee for fostering one of the most inclusive and open dialogues ever held between regulators and operators.
Participants unanimously praised the engagement as “historic,” noting that, for the first time, the National Assembly successfully brought together verifiable industry players in a single venue, debate, and contributed intelligently toward a unified national policy on digital assets.
Mawahin Adams, co-founder of Nigeria Women Bitcoiners (NWB), a gender-focused blockchain education community, emphasised that any national policy on digital assets must include women’s perspectives not as an afterthought, but as a critical part of building an inclusive and sustainable digital economy.
In her remarks, delivered by one of NWB’s female representatives, she highlighted the urgent need for a “National Digital-Asset Literacy and Inclusion Programme,” one that moves beyond adoption statistics to focus on understanding, safety, and inclusion.
She also proposed introducing digital-asset education modules into NYSC orientation programmes and secondary-school curricula, and suggested that 1–2% of annual crypto regulatory fees be allocated to fund inclusion initiatives.
Boundaries
A defining moment in the hearing came when the Committee questioned Buchi Okoro, co-founder of Quidax, on the legitimacy and operational boundaries of Quidax’s activities under the SEC’s regulatory sandbox, particularly regarding its product integrations with the gaming platform Bet9ja and its API offerings to smaller fintech startups.
Lawmakers sought clarification on whether such integrations might indirectly bypass the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP), designed to onboard Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) gradually, while ensuring investor protection and compliance.
Responding, Mr Abdulrasheed Mohammed, Head of Fintech Innovations at the SEC, explained that the Commission’s ARIP framework was carefully curated to prevent unsupervised operations.
He stressed that the SEC maintains strict oversight on permissible activities within its sandbox and will not allow any arrangement that complicates its monitoring capacity.
The exchange drew applause from the audience when Chairman Bamisile intervened with a balanced perspective, defending Quidax’s innovation while calling out regulatory inertia.
He stated that, while Quidax may not have gone through the most rigorous path of SEC approval, its efforts to localise exchange infrastructure and grow transaction volume represent a valuable economic opportunity for Nigeria.
“Rather than punish innovation,” he urged, “we should strengthen supervision and taxation mechanisms through agencies like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) so that the sector contributes meaningfully to President Bola Tinubu’s vision of a ₦1 trillion digital economy. The SEC must guide with firmness but not fear, so we don’t stifle the very creativity that will move this nation forward.”
The Chairman’s intervention was widely praised by both regulators and operators as an example of forward-thinking leadership capable of aligning innovation with national interest.
Several industry participants took the discussion further by urging caution in the rollout of cryptocurrency taxation policies.
They appealed to the FIRS, now the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), to proceed carefully with any proposed crypto tax framework to avoid pushing the largely informal and “uncultured” market underground.
Stakeholders warned that overregulation or premature taxation could unintentionally create a black market, encourage capital flight, and undermine Nigeria’s chances of becoming Africa’s crypto capital.
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Many advocated for temporary tax waivers and incentive-based compliance, allowing the ecosystem to stabilise and grow before phased taxation is introduced.
Local technology
Participants also made a strong case for the development and deployment of locally built, world-class regulatory technologies that both government agencies and VASPs can use to monitor, audit, and report digital asset transactions.
Oye Shobowale Benson, a sovereign blockchain architect, noted that such locally developed tools would strengthen Nigeria’s monetary sovereignty, encourage local capacity building, create millions of jobs, attract foreign direct investment into the digital finance sector, and contribute to GDP growth and diversification of the non-oil economy.
Throughout the session, stakeholders called for a harmonised regulatory approach across agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), SEC, and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
They also advocated for clearer compliance standards, government-supported infrastructure for blockchain innovation, and enhanced inter-agency collaboration to eliminate the fragmentation currently hindering growth in Nigeria’s crypto ecosystem.
Background
This landmark hearing comes at a critical moment in Nigeria’s financial evolution, just days after the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, marking a significant milestone in global confidence in Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing reforms.
With one of the largest cryptocurrency user bases in the world, Nigeria continues to stand as Africa’s hub of digital finance innovation.
However, the lack of unified regulation and the rise of security concerns have created an urgent need for a comprehensive national policy that balances innovation with investor protection.
The Bamisile Committee is expected to submit recommendations to guide the House of Representatives in developing Nigeria’s first coherent legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and digital finance, ensuring that the nation’s participation in the global digital economy is secure, compliant, and future-ready.
The hearing marked a turning point not only for lawmakers and operators but for Nigeria’s economic future.
For the first time, dialogue triumphed over division, and innovation found its place at the same table as policy.
The session closed with a shared resolve: that Nigeria will not be left behind in the race toward a transparent, secure, and innovation-friendly digital economy, powered by collaboration, guided by law, and driven by trust.