Nigeria's financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is considering a big change that could shake up the crypto scene.

They're thinking about making crypto companies pay a lot more to be officially recognized—from 30 million naira (about $18,620) to a whopping 150 million naira ($93,000).

This move seems to be a way to attract the heavy hitters of the crypto world, like Coinbase, to set up shop in Nigeria.

While this might sound like good news, there's a catch. The Nigerian government isn't too keen on peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, where people trade directly with each other.

They're putting rules in place that could make it tough for P2P platforms to thrive.

Ray Youssef, the big boss at NoOnes and a key figure in the P2P exchange Paxful, believes that while these rules might help with some of the country's money issues, they could also slow down the growth of crypto services that rely on P2P.

Despite these hurdles, Youssef is hopeful. He thinks Nigeria can still be a major player in the crypto game. He suggests that the government could see the bustling P2P market as a plus and work together with crypto folks to boost the economy.

Nigeria's love affair with crypto isn't new. It's the biggest P2P crypto market globally, a title it earned after the Central Bank of Nigeria said 'no' to financial institutions dealing in crypto back in 2021. But in a twist, the ban was lifted in December 2023, giving crypto exchanges a green light to get licenses in Nigeria.

There's also buzz about the eNaira, Nigeria's own digital currency. The government teamed up with Gluwa to get more people using it. Youssef thinks the government could've played its cards differently with the eNaira, using it to spark local business and get the youth excited about digital money.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for crypto exchanges in Nigeria. Binance, a big name in the game, stopped using the Nigerian naira in March after the government gave it some side-eye in February.

In August 2022, Nigeria was googling "cryptocurrency" and "buy crypto" more than any other country—talk about crypto-crazy!

So, that's the scoop. Nigeria's making moves that could bring in the big leagues of crypto, but it's a delicate dance with P2P trading and government rules. Stay tuned to see how it all plays out!