The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, has revealed that the Commission is currently engaging with developers to co-create a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
This disclosure was made during his keynote speech at the 2025 Decentralised Finance event held in Lagos.
Dr Agama emphasised that the Commission is not interested in waging a battle against DeFi, but is instead working to attract credible and responsible participants into Nigeria’s digital asset space.
According to him, “the Commission believes responsible DeFi can thrive in a regulated environment, and the SEC is looking forward to enhancing investor education and digital literacy.”
He announced the launch of a new initiative by the SEC titled ‘Crypto Smart, Nigeria Strong’, which is targeted at young investors in schools, universities, and on social media. “It aims to cover basic blockchain principles, how to spot scams, and the value of long-term investing,” he stated.
He added that the future of Nigeria’s digital assets ecosystem rests on three critical pillars: Collaboration, Innovation, and Trust.
Speaking on the direction of regulatory development in the sector, Dr Agama noted, “The road we see ahead is regulatory evolution through an expanded licensing regime. We are enhancing our licensing architecture to make it more efficient, more transparent and more risk-based.”
He explained that the SEC’s goal is to attract credible operators while systematically eliminating bad actors through measures such as streamlining application timelines, introducing tiered Virtual Asset Service Provider licenses, and incorporating automated compliance monitoring mechanisms.
In addition to these measures, Dr Agama confirmed that the SEC is actively working on a framework for Naira-pegged stablecoins. He explained that such stablecoins would be fully backed by verifiable reserves, audited regularly by independent custodians, and deployed for purposes including cross-border trade, payments, and programmable finance.