SEC Admits Seven Firms to Crypto Regulatory Sandbox, Including Luno, CNGN Issuer

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, has admitted seven virtual asse​t firms into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, a regulatory sandbox for digital asset operators.

Confirmed by the Virtual Asset Service Providers Association (VASPA), the newly admitted entities are;

1. Bitbarter Technologies Limited,
2. Luno Fintech Nigeria Limited,
3. GetEquity Limited,
4. Koinkoin Global Network Limited,
5. Wrapped CBDC Ltd,
6. Trovotech Ltd, and
7. Blockvault Custodian Ltd.

The ARIP framework, run by the SEC under Director-General Emomotimi Agama, allows digital asset firms to pilot operations under regulatory supervision before securing full capital market operator licences.

Admission typically follows an Approval-in-Principle (AIP) stage requiring firms to meet compliance and legal-structuring benchmarks set by the commission.

VASPA, a Pan-African industry association for virtual asset service providers, welcomed the admissions and credited the SEC with favouring a sandbox-based approach over enforcement-led regulation of the sector.

The association also called on the SEC to make three changes to strengthen the programme: setting clear timelines for how long firms remain in the sandbox before graduating to full licences; restoring upfront public classification of which activities each admitted firm is permitted to test, such as custody, exchange or digital investment platform services; and issuing clearer guidance on how existing securities tests apply to tokenised instruments and real-world assets.

VASPA said it is seeking closer engagement with the SEC, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and National Assembly committees examining cryptocurrency and point-of-sale regulation, to help shape future iterations of the framework.

Neither the SEC nor the named sandbox entrants have independently confirmed the admissions as of this report; the sole source is VASPA’s statement.

The post SEC Admits Seven Firms to Crypto Regulatory Sandbox, Including Luno, CNGN Issuer appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.