Nigeria Approves National Policy to Create 'Blockchain-Powered' Economy

Nigeria's government approved a national blockchain policy on Wednesday as part of the country's effort to transition to a digital economy.

The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy developed the policy, according to a statement tweeted by the ministry.

"The vision of the Policy is to create a Blockchain-powered economy that supports secure transactions, data sharing, and value exchange between people, businesses, and Government, thereby enhancing innovation, trust, growth and prosperity for all," the statement said.

The policy document doesn't appear to have been made public yet.

The tweet did not mention cryptocurrencies, which the government cracked down on in 2021 after the country emerged as one of the fastest digital asset adopters in the world.

The cabinet, known as the Federal Executive Council, directed regulators including the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "to develop regulatory instruments for the deployment" of blockchain tech across various sectors of the economy. Earlier in the week, Bloomberg reported Nigeria's SEC was considering allowing tokenized coin offerings backed by equity, debt or property – but “not crypto” – on licensed digital asset exchanges.

"A multi-sectoral Steering Committee has also been approved to oversee the implementation of the Policy," the statement said.

CoinDesk has reached out to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy for comment.

Read more: Nigeria's SEC Mulls Allowing Tokenized Equity, Property but Not Crypto: Bloomberg