UK-based crypto exchange, Blockchain.com, is seeking to acquire a crypto exchange licence in Nigeria as part of its expansion plans into African nations that have started to institute rules to regulate the industry.
According to Bloomberg, the company is looking to grow in countries including Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, and this quarter is planning a physical office in Nigeria, which is the firm’s “fastest-growing market” in West Africa.
“Applying for a crypto-exchange license in Nigeria is a top priority,” Bloomberg quoted Blockchain.com’s General Manager for Africa Operations, Owenize Odia.
New crypto laws in Africa
While crypto trading is still illegal in most African nations and trading activities are closely monitored by central banks, some countries are enacting laws to regulate crypto exchanges.
“Nigeria has taken meaningful steps toward creating a clear framework for crypto. In Ghana, draft rules released by the central bank highlight its intention to begin regulating cryptocurrency and related platforms by the end of September 2025,” Odia said.
- Nigeria this year enacted a new investment and securities law, which provides for the licensing and regulation of crypto exchanges.
- That prompted exchanges, including Yellow Card Financial Inc., to seek a permit, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- Ghana issued draft guidelines on the proposed monitoring of digital assets last year, while Kenya is seeking to understand the asset class before possible regulation.
Blockchain.com was valued at about $14 billion in 2022, following a financing round in which companies including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Baillie Gifford & Co participated. The company has 37 million verified users, with 92 million wallets created and more than $1 trillion transacted, according to its website.
What you should know
Before the signing of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA 2025), which makes provisions for crypto regulation in Nigeria, the SEC had last August granted an Approval-in-Principle to two crypto exchanges, Quidax and Busha, greenlighting its readiness to regulate the crypto industry in the country.
The two exchanges were approved under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP) program of the Commission.
In addition to that, the Commission also admitted four companies to test their models and technology under its Regulatory Incubation (RI) Program.
The four firms are digital assets offering platforms, which include Trovotech Ltd, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Dream City Capital, and HousingExhange.NG Ltd.
- The SEC noted that the firms listed above were not the only entities that have applied to ARIP and the RI Program.
- Meanwhile, the SEC last month explained that the issuance of more provisional licences for crypto exchanges is being delayed because it has to carry out more due diligence.
- According to the Director General of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, the Commission had received several applications before and after announcing the first provisional licenses last year, but a lot of issues had come up from the first set of licences that require a higher level of due diligence.