The International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports Nigeria’s integration of cryptocurrencies into its economic framework, advising the licensing of global cryptocurrency exchanges as part of the country’s financial reforms.
This recommendation is detailed in a recent IMF report, highlighting the strategy to solidify Nigeria’s role in the African cryptocurrency market.
The report urges the Nigerian government to ensure that global crypto trading platforms are registered in Nigeria and comply with the same regulatory standards as financial intermediaries.
It emphasizes the importance of implementing stringent Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) controls among these platforms.
The IMF also noted ongoing discrepancies in Nigeria’s balance of payments, attributing these to the increased use of cryptocurrencies for cross-border transactions that bypass traditional banking channels.
These unrecorded transactions have contributed to significant negative entries in Nigeria’s preliminary 2023 balance of payments data, amounting to approximately $7.5 billion, or 2% of the nation’s GDP.
