The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cautioned Nigerians against investing in the cryptocurrency known as Punisher Coin, also referred to as $PUN, citing its unauthorized presale and lack of regulatory approval.
In a public notice issued over the weekend, the Commission disclosed that neither the promoters nor the digital asset itself has been registered or approved to operate within the Nigerian capital market.
“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘the Commission’) has been drawn to several online publications blatantly advertising unauthorized presale of a crypto coin termed ‘PUNISHER COIN’ also known as ‘$PUN’,” the SEC stated. “Particularly perturbing is the write-up by Daily Trust E-Paper titled: ‘Cryptos to Buy: Why Punisher Coin Could Join Avalanche and Chainlink as a Top Investment Pick.’”
According to preliminary investigations, the SEC classified Punisher Coin as a “meme coin”—a type of digital asset that generally lacks intrinsic value, utility, or any tangible project backing it.
The Commission warned that such coins derive their perceived value primarily from hype generated by promoters and online communities, leaving them susceptible to “pump and dump” schemes. These schemes involve artificially inflating the coin’s value through misleading promotions, only for the insiders to sell off at the peak, causing the price to crash and unsuspecting investors to incur heavy losses.
“Meme coins generally have no use case, intrinsic value or tangible projects backing them,” the Commission explained. “Any attributed value to a meme coin is usually linked to promoters or community efforts, which are often vulnerable to pump-and-dump tactics.”
Investors were sternly warned that participating in the presale or any other scheme involving Punisher Coin is done at their own risk, as the coin remains unregistered and unregulated under Nigerian law.
“The public is therefore strongly advised to exercise extreme caution and to verify the registration status of any crypto asset or its promoters through the Commission’s Fintech and Innovation portal at: https://home.sec.gov.ng/fintech-and-innovation-hub-finport/registered-fintech-operators/,” the notice concluded.