The establishment of local offices by crypto firms in Nigeria, as directed by the Nigerian security and exchange commission (SEC), is a welcome development for several reasons:
1. Transparency and genuity: By having a physical presence in Nigeria, crypto firms demonstrate their commitment to transparency and genuity, which can help build trust with the government and regulators.
2. Customer support: Local offices can provide better customer support and services to Nigerian users, such as assistance with transactions, wallet management, and dispute resolution.
3. Regulatory compliance: By setting up offices in Nigeria, crypto firms can more easily comply with local regulations and guidelines, which can help to prevent illegal activities and ensure a safer trading environment.
4. Education and awareness: Local offices can also serve as educational centers, providing training and workshops on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, which can help to increase adoption and understanding in Nigeria.
5. Internal issue resolution: As you mentioned, having a local presence can help to tackle internal Bitcoin issues, such as disputes and fraud, more efficiently and effective.
This development can help to promote the growth of the cryptocurrency industry in Nigeria, while also ensuring that it is done in a safe and responsible manner.
I agree with you OP in terms of crypto firms to open local offices here in Nigeria especially the centralized exchange companies. This move will help settle transaction issues that customers might experience locally, but what i seem to differ with you a little is about the regulation aspect by the Nigerian government you mentioned.
if the regulations is about the adminstrative process on how firms should operate in Nigeria on how to pay taxes, to register with CAC and to have their operational license to run their business then I will agree with you for them to follow those guidelines, but I will technically disagree with you, if the regulations will be on practical operations of how the cryptocurrency firms should run their business, because it is a decentralized system and government cannot have a direct practical control of the activities that happen on the crypto space.
so to a large extent, their regular will certainly have a limit. so my question is, the Nigerian government ready to embrace those limitations that comes with cryptocurrency regulations?