The Federal government and cryptocurrency platform, Binance Holdings Ltd. are reportedly in talks to establish a digital economic zone that will help entrepreneurs fast track blockchain technology in the West African nation.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority.
The partnership according to a report by Bloomberg aims to build a digital hub, “similar to the Dubai virtual free zone”.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is targeting digital technology as a means to help diversify the economy away from crude oil, taking advantage of an increasingly connected and youthful population.
Fintech startups such as Interswitch Ltd. and Flutterwave Inc. has emerged in the space and achieved billion-dollar plus valuations.
The government this year enacted regulations for trade in digital assets while Nigeria Exchange Ltd. plans to start a blockchain-enabled platform next year to deepen trade at the bourse.
Nigeria’s citizens showed more interest in cryptocurrencies than any other country since the digital assets began to decline in April, according to a study by price tracker CoinGecko.
It can be recalled that the Federal Government through its financial and monetary regulation body, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) placed a ban on cryptocurrency trading in the country in February last year.
Reports however shows that despite the ban, Nigerians continue to trade on cryptocurrencies using platforms like Binance and others.
