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BRICS tried to convince other countries to ditch the US dollar and use local currencies for oil payments is backfiring. Nigeria took a leaf from its playbook and announced in October that oil refiners in the country would only accept the Nigerian naira to boost their national currency. Oil refiners accepted the government’s mandate and started accepting local currencies for oil deals and cross-border settlements. Also Read: BRICS: Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank Predict US Dollar’s Future Trouble began immediately as the Nigerian naira depreciated against the US dollar causing losses to all the oil refiners. Nigerian oil firms began showing dissatisfaction with the government’s policies and the unions and lobbies pressured the officials to reverse the mandate, so they could accept the US dollar to keep their company’s revenues and balance sheets in profits. Nigeria is now paying a heavy price in ditching the US dollar and following the BRICS agenda for oil payments. ...

A major crypto romance scam operation in Nigeria that targeted North Americans and Europeans has been raided by police, with nearly 800 suspects arrested. Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said that the seven-story Big Leaf Building in Lagos was stormed on December 10, where 792 suspected fraudsters were arrested. Chinese nationals made up 148 of the arrests, the EFCC said, while 40 were Filipino. Computers, phones, and cars were also seized in the raid. The suspects are believed to have run a major crypto scam in Nigeria that contacted victims through social media. After seduction, they were told of exciting crypto investment opportunities that falsely promised great returns. Austrian crypto scammers blew thousands on clubbing, hookers, shark tank Read more: Football legends Ronaldinho, Luis Figo sued for Omegapro crypto scam promo “Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online t...

On Aug. 9, 2023, local reports revealed that the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), responsible for formulating regulatory frameworks for naira-dollar exchange, wants Binance banned . Nigeria taking action ABCON asserted that Binance’s activities contribute to the strain on the naira, a sentiment echoed by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a June 2023 statement.  The SEC emphasized that Binance Nigeria lacks proper registration and regulation, rendering its operations in Nigeria illegal.  As the guardian of investor interests, the SEC underscored the substantial risks of dealing with Binance Nigeria or similar unregistered platforms.  You might also like: Nigeria SEC declares Binance operations in country illegal Notably, in May 2022, the SEC also issued a rulebook categorizing all cryptocurrencies as securities. The association noted a shift in sentiment in the prevailing foreign currency market scenario....

Nigeria's federal executive council has approved the national policy on blockchain to help the country develop a regulatory framework to govern the adoption of the technology. Nigeria, known to be one of the world’s most curious nations about Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), has approved the National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria during its meeting on May 3, 2023. The approval was in response to a memo presented by Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.  The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE), in the announcement, cited a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which predicts that the widespread adoption of blockchain technology across various industries could potentially contribute $1.76 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2030, representing 1.4% of the world's GDP. The National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria was developed by the FMCDE through stakeholder consultations...