BY BANYO TEMITAYO
VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has advised regulators in the banking industry to tread carefully with respect to the issue of the ban on cryptocurrency operations, calling for further reflection on their position.
Osinbajo, who appeared to have spoken in parables at the Bankers’ Committee summit in Lagos, said he appreciated the strong positions of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as security agencies, on possible abuses of cryptocurrencies.
He however noted that the regulators could explore a robust regulatory regime to address the concerns rather than impose an outright ban.
Osinbajo said, “I fully appreciate the strong position of the CBN, SEC, and some of the anti-corruption agencies on the possible abuses of cryptocurrencies and their other well-articulated concerns, but I believe that their position should be the subject of further reflection.
“There is a role for regulation here. And it is in the place of both our monetary authorities and SEC to provide a robust regulatory regime that addresses these serious concerns without killing the goose that might lay the golden eggs.”
According to him, there is no question that blockchain technology, generally, and cryptocurrencies, in particular, will in the coming years challenge traditional banking, including reserve banking, in ways that the world cannot yet imagine.
“So, we need to be prepared for that seismic shift and it may come sooner than later. Already, remittance systems are being challenged. Blockchain technology will provide far cheaper options for the kind of fees being paid today for cross-border transfers,” the VP noted.
“I am sure you are all aware of the challenge that the traditional SWIFT system is facing from new systems like Ripple, which is based on the blockchain distributed ledger technology with its own crypto tokens. There are, of course, a whole range of digital assets spawned daily from blockchain technology,” he added.
According to him, decentralised finance, using smart contracts to create financial instruments, in place of central financial intermediaries such as banks or brokerages, is set to challenge traditional finance.
“The likes of Nexo finance offer instant loans using cryptocurrency as collateral…Some reserve banks are investigating issuing their own digital currencies. Clearly, the future of money and finance, especially for traditional banking, must be as exciting as it is frightening. But as we have seen in many other sectors, disruption makes room for efficiency and progress,” Osinbajo stated.
“So it should be thoughtful and knowledge-based regulation not prohibition. The point I am making is that some of the exciting developments we see call for prudence and care in adopting them, but we must act with knowledge and not fear,” he advised.
