Nigeria SEC admits nine crypto firms to regulatory sandbox

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has significantly expanded its oversight of the country's digital asset industry, admitting nine companies into its regulatory incubation program in recent days. The move marks a concerted push to bring cryptocurrency businesses under formal supervision.

On Friday, July 3, the SEC announced it had granted "Approval-in-Principle" to seven firms, allowing them to join its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP). The companies are Bitbarter Technologies Limited, Luno Fintech Nigeria Limited, GetEquity Limited, Koinkoin Global Network Limited, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Trovotech Ltd, and Blockvault Custodian Ltd. Just two days later, on Monday, July 6, the regulator admitted two more companies, GIGX Technologies and KuCoin Nigeria Limited, into the same program.

The ARIP framework serves as a regulatory sandbox, permitting admitted firms to operate within a defined scope under SEC supervision while they work toward obtaining full operating licenses. The Commission clarified that an Approval-in-Principle is not a final license but confirms a company has met initial admission requirements. Final authorization remains conditional on...