Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering allowing licensed digital exchanges to list tokens backed by assets like equity, debt, or property. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether will not be among those assets, according to SEC head of securities and investment Abdulkadir Abbas. The SEC aims to register fintech firms as digital sub-brokers, crowdfunding intermediaries, fund managers, and tokenized coins issuers, but crypto exchanges will not be registered until the central bank provides clear regulations for the market.

License applicants will undergo a year of "regulatory incubation" before the SEC determines whether to register the firm. Despite the central bank's ban on cryptocurrencies, Nigeria has emerged as one of the most active countries in terms of adoption and curiosity about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.