The lower chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly -- the House of Representatives -- has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) to come up with a regulatory framework for blockchain technology in the country.
According to Business Day, the call was made after adopting a bill titled 'Need to regulate blockchain applications and Internet technology', which was sponsored by a member of the house, Solomon Adaelu.
The bill is a call for Nigeria to switch sides about blockchain technology but this means the apex bank will have to go back on its word.
Last year, CBN’s deputy director in charge of Banking and Payment System, Musa Itopa-Jimoh said the apex bank can’t regulate blockchain because Nigeria doesn't own the technology. Also the CBN boss, Godwin Emefiele said that the monetary body cannot support situations where people risk their savings, referring to cryptocurrencies trading as gambling.
We can just hope that the CBN and every other appropriate government agencies are considered for input for the proposed bill.
And while there might be hope for the first part of the bill about blockchain, the second part of the bill, which is the regulation of Internet technology, will definitely face attacks from civil societies as with past moves by the government to regulate the Internet.
