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Two cryptocurrency firms, Busha Digital Limited and Quidax Technologies Limited have received 'Approval-in-Principles for operations from the Securities and Exchange Commission under its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program, ARIP.
The Commission made this disclosure in a statement on Friday, adding that five other firms had been admitted to test their models and technology under the SEC’s Regulatory Incubation Programme, RI.
The firm's are Trovotech Ltd, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, HousingExhange.NG Ltd, Dream City Capital and Blockvault Custodian Ltd.
The Commission noted that the cohort comprises two (2) Digital Asset Exchanges, four (4) Digital asset Offering Platforms and one (1) Digital Asset Custodian.
According to the statement, “Busha operates a digital exchange that facilitates the buying and selling of crypto assets with fiat currency. Busha’s customers use the mobile and web applications to buy, sell, store, send, receive, trade and invest and make payments in cryptocurrencies.
“Quidax Technologies Limited operates a cryptocurrency trading platform in Nigeria. The platform leverages blockchain technology to list and trade already issued crypto tokens (assets).
“The services are provided via a proprietary blockchain owned and controlled by Quidax. The exchange platform is both web and mobile enabled for ease of access and use. Quidax also utilises digital wallet to enable its users store, receive and transact in variety of cryptocurrencies.”
SEC recently introduced the ARIP to strategically onboard firms which had commenced operations prior to the release of the Rules on Virtual Asset Service Providers in May 2022.
Conversely, the RI programme was created to assess the business models of Digital Assets firms and test innovative products, services and technology in a real-time market environment under close supervision by the SEC.
According to the Commission, “The current cohort of the ARIP and the RI Programme is characterised by the increased use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in creating and trading crypto assets.
"The outcome of the process would inform further policy development in this space. Tests will be conducted on a short-term and small-scale basis and the SEC will continue to work with the participating firms to agree on testing parameters as well as robust consumer safeguards.
“The referenced Approvals-in-Principle are a precursor to the grant of full registration by the SEC and are meant to ensure that appropriate protection and transparency is in place in respect of each product or service."
