On Monday, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reinforced its commitment to enhancing oversight in the digital asset space by advocating for complete transparency in cryptocurrency transactions.
According to the commission, the move aims to tackle the rising cases of fraud and illicit activities affecting the crypto ecosystem nationwide.
Speaking at a joint webinar with blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, SEC Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama noted the need for regulatory collaboration and advanced blockchain intelligence to trace and combat fraudulent schemes.
The event, themed “Combating Scams with Blockchain Intelligence,” brought together regulators, industry experts, and stakeholders to address the growing threats in Nigeria’s crypto market.
The rising threat of crypto fraud
Dr. Agama emphasised the increase in advanced scams, including fake decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols, NFT fraud, and fraudulent exchange platforms designed to scam investors.
“When you imagine the future of cryptocurrency transactions, you imagine that if the fraudulent practices are already climbing the way they are now, what will the future hold if we all sit doing nothing?” he questioned.
He warned that the crypto space could become a breeding ground for financial crimes without coordinated efforts.
“If we all sit not being coordinated, not collaborating, and finding differences that we should not find, we risk enabling a dangerous future,” Agama stated.
The SEC’s strategy involves leveraging blockchain’s immutable nature to track illicit transactions, analyse fund flows, and identify suspicious wallet clusters.
“We must speak about the technical foundations that drive us to transaction transparency—where every Bitcoin, Ethereum transaction is permanently recorded, and wallets belonging to the same entity are identified through flow analysis,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the urgency of the commission point is further justified by findings from the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime Report, which revealed that illicit crypto addresses received about $178 billion over the past five years.
The peak was recorded in 2022 with $54.3 billion, followed by $46.1 billion in 2023 and $40.9 billion in 2024.
Stablecoins now dominate illicit transactions, accounting for 63 per cent of fraudulent volumes, while Bitcoin remains prevalent in ransomware and darknet market dealings.
Additionally, Dr. Agama hailed the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 as a good development for Nigeria’s digital asset regulation.
Enacted in April, the law provides much-needed clarity for crypto operations, which previously operated in a regulatory grey area.
“We believe the emergence of the ISA 2025 is a groundbreaker,” Agama said. “It ensures that as a nation, we provide clarity, and as a nation, we can cooperate to deal with the current situation. It is also important that we do not stifle innovation.”
SEC boss calls for unified action against crypto scams
In his closing remarks, Agama urged regulators, industry players, and technology providers to collaborate in combating crypto fraud.
He stressed that blockchain’s traceability should be harnessed to protect investors and maintain market integrity.
“With all the various tools at our disposal, it becomes clear that we must all brace up to the challenges of the future,” he said. “What we need to do collectively is to make sure we stop this right at the beginning.”
The webinar also featured key discussions on regulatory frameworks, enforcement strategies, and the role of blockchain analytics in detecting scams, reinforcing the need for public-private partnerships to promote secure crypto communities.