GIA, SEC unveil digital asset markets strategy

The Global Investment Advisory Community has partnered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to unveil a Digital Asset Markets Strategy for Nigeria.

 The strategy was unveiled at the Digital Asset Markets Strategy Masterclass held at the SEC office in Lagos on Friday.

The Digital Asset Markets Strategy is aimed at making the younger generation of Nigerians and those in the diaspora see the feasibility of buying cryptocurrency in naira and growing their portfolio.

Global Investment Advisory is a community of institutional financial investors, investment banks, asset management firms and high-net-worth sophisticated accredited investors. Some notable members of the institutional investors’ community include Meristem Group, CardinalStone, Constant Capital, Anabel Capital and VFD Group.

Presenting the strategic framework, global investment advisor and convener of the Digital Asset Markets Strategy Masterclass, Dr Nicky Okoye, said Nigeria’s Investment and Securities Act 2025 has integrated the digital asset market into the Nigerian capital, with the SEC as the assigned regulator.

He added that the ISA Act 2025 authorises cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, as well as provides a strong legal basis for the issuance of tokens, which are the key digital assets that will be traded and exchanged between investors within our own digital asset markets ecosystem in Nigeria.

Providing the Nigerian financial and capital market industry with a detailed overview of what the digital asset markets will look like for Nigeria in the months and years to come, Okoye said GIA will be building a community of capital asset managers and aggregators in Nigeria that will be fully dedicated to the adoption and expansion of the digital asset markets across Nigeria.

“The strategy includes training of aggregators, young Nigerians who will identify, educate and convert Nigerian prospects for the digital asset market. It will also lure Nigerians in the diaspora to invest $25,000 in the Nigerian digital asset markets. As part of the strategy, we will also take a selection of its members on an international digital asset markets roadshow to understudy cryptocurrency and digital asset exchanges in New York, Singapore, Geneva and other strategic global markets. The long-term benefit of this is that it will help strengthen the naira and move our currency to the positive side,” Okoye said.

In his keynote address, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the Digital Asset Markets Strategy will support the achievement of the $22 bn digital economy projection of 2029.

The Governor, represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi, said, “Nigeria is positioned to lead digital transformation but needs legislation and policies that guide the industry. The SEC and GIA are here to help the digital asset markets innovate with clear guidelines that protect investors and ensure the market is competitive and secure. The collaboration with asset managers, advisers and regulators will provide insights into the market and guide investors on how to leverage the immense opportunities.”

Speaking on the legislative support for the Nigerian digital asset markets, the Chairman of the Senate Capital Market Committee, Senator Osita Izunaso, pledged that the Senate Capital Markets Committee would continue to work with the global investment advisory community to identify new areas of legislative adjustment or amendments that will further deepen the digital asset markets and the capital markets as a whole.